Most people think weight gain is a failure of willpower. I don’t. 

I study how the brain controls appetite, metabolism, and body weight, and why, for many of us, it makes staying healthy much harder than it should be. I am a neuroscientist and physiologist, and Associate Professor in Physiology and Metabolism at the University of Bradford, where I lead the #Helferlab. My work sits at the intersection of brain function, metabolism, and behaviour. I’m particularly interested in one simple question: why do some people feel constantly hungry, while others don’t? 

I began my career in Austria, studying Biology and Zoology at the University of Salzburg (Austria), before moving into circadian biology at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (Seewiesen, Germany). I completed my PhD at the University of Birmingham (UK), and later worked at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health (Aberdeen, UK), where I helped uncover a novel role for Vitamin A in the brain. 

Today, my research focuses on how brain–body interactions shape appetite and metabolic health. My goal is simple: to move beyond trends and headlines, and uncover the biology that actually drives health.