Gisela Helfer

I am an Associate Professor in Physiology and Metabolism at the University of Bradford. My main interests and areas of expertise are in neuroendocrinology and chronobiology. My research so far has centred on the control of circadian rhythms and seasonality in vertebrates and this has recently led to investigations in the regulation of appetite and body weight in the brain.

Prior to my position at Bradford, I studied Biology and Zoology at the University of Salzburg, Austria where I investigated the neurobiology of learning and imprinting behaviour of Japanese quail chicks. I then moved to the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Andechs, Germany, where I initially worked on the hippocampal formation of migratory birds with Prof Ebo Gwinner. At the Max Planck Institute, I developed a strong interest in chronobiology (circadian rhythms and seasonality research) which lead me to take a research assistant post at the same Institute to work on the circadian system of birds with Dr Roland Brandstaetter and Dr Andrew Fidler.

In 2004, I commenced my PhD with Dr Brandstaetter at the University of Birmingham, where I graduated in 2007 for researching the molecular characterisation of the circadian system in passerine birds. After working as a teaching fellow at the University of Worcester, I then took up a post as a research fellow at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen in 2009 working with Prof Peter Morgan. My research at the Rowett focused on the seasonal neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating body weight and energy balance. In 2016, I was appointed to my first academic position as lecturer at the University of Bradford and am is now a senior lecturer in Physiology and Metabolism.