Marco Koch’s research focuses on the processing and systematic integration of multiple exposures by plasticity of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neuron cell organelles.
He and his team want to understand how satiety-promoting  hypothalamic Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons orchestrate behavioral- and physiological adaptations in response to metabolic stressors. Poor diets and overnutrition represent major environmental risk factors being responsible for more than 10 million deaths worldwide per year. While a large body of research focuses on hypothalamic intercellular communication, the research team will investigate the intracellular processes by studying the plasticity of organelles in satiety-promoting POMC neurons to identify novel players involved in processing and integration of individual diet-related metabolic factors.