Education

  • BS, Kinesiology - Exercise Physiology, University of Lethbridge, 2013
  • MS, Kinesiology - Exercise Physiology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2016
  • PhD, Human Health and Nutritional Science, University of Guelph, 2020
  • PDF, Metabolism, Obesity, Diabetes Research Centre, McMaster University, 2026

Research Interests

Dr. Logan Townsend works at the intersection of metabolic and mental health, emphasizing peripheral circulating factors and their contribution to anxiety and depression in cardiometabolic diseases, including obesity and diabetes. Extending on his recent work identifying GDF15 as a novel factor contributing to anxiety, Logan will continue to investigate GDF15 while looking to uncover other factors in the hopes of improving both metabolic and mental health.

Selected Publications

  1. F Di Pastena, J Gautam, JSV Lally, R Fayyazi, E Grasset, D Bhattacharya, G Fidelito, E Ahmadi, B Batchuluun, DC Oniciu, LK Townsend, S Heaton, RS Newton, T Tsakiridis, P Deo, F Briand, MJ Watt, SL Friedman, D Wang, GR Steinberg (2026). Dual inhibition of ACLY and ACSS2 by EVT0185 reduces steatosis, hepatic stellate cell activation, and fibrosis in mouse models of MASH. Cell Metabolism, DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.11.015
  2. TKT Smith, LK Townsend, WJ Smiles, JS Oakhill, M Fullerton, GR Steinberg (2026). AMPK at the interface of nutrient sensing, metabolic flux, and energy homeostasis. Nature Metabolism, DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01442-3
  3. LK Townsend, D Wang, CM Knuth, R Fayyazi, EE Tsakiridis, A Mohammad, LJ Becker, EM Desjardins, Z Patel,     CM Valvano, J Lu, SM Beaudette, KM Morrison, AC Carpentier, DP Blondin, REK MacPherson, JG McCall, MG Jeschke, GR Steinberg (2025). GDF15 links adipose tissue lipolysis with anxiety. Nature Metabolism. DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01264-3
  4. J Gautam, J Wu, JSV Lally, D Wang, R Fayyazi, J McNicol, DC Oniciu, S Heaton, RS Newton, E Ahmadi, S R, D Bhattacharya, F Di Pastena, B Nguyen, C Valvano, LK Townsend, S Banskota, B Batchuluun, MJT Jablie, A Payne, J Lu, EM Desjardins, N Kubota, EE Tsakiridis, B Mistry, A     Aganostopoulos, V Houde, A Dansercoer, KHG Verschueren, SN Savvides, J Hammill, K Bezverbnaya, P Muti, T Tsakiridis, W Dai,    L Jiang, Y Hoshida, M Larché, SL Friedman, JL Bramson,  K Verstraete, GR Steinberg (2025). Inhibition of (ACLY enhances tumor immunogenicity and resolves MASH-driven hepatocellular carcinoma. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09297-0
  5. Wang D, Jabile MJT, Lu J, Townsend LK, Valvano CM, Gautam J, Batchuluun B, Tsakiridis EE, Lally JSV, Steinberg GR (2024). Fatty Acids Increase GDF15 and Reduce Food Intake Through a GFRAL Signaling Axis. Diabetes. DOI: 10.2337/db23-0495
  6. Townsend LK, Wang D, Wright DC, Blondin D (2023). Skeletal muscle, not brown adipose tissue, is responsible for metabolic benefits of cold exposure. Nature Metabolism. DOI: 10.1038/s42255- 023-00837-4
  7. Wang D, Townsend LK, Batchuluun B, DesOrmeaux GJ, Frangos SM, Dumont L, Kuhre RE, Ahmadi E, Hu S, Rebalka IA, Gautam J, Jabile MJT, Pileggi CA, Rehal S, Desjardins EM, Tsakiridis EE, Lally JSV, Tupling AR, Gerstein H, Paré G, Tsakiridis T, Harper M-E, Hawke TJ, Speakman JR, Blondin DP, Holloway GP, Jørgensen SB, Steinberg GR (2023). GDF15 promotes weight loss by enhancing energy expenditure in muscle. Nature. DOI: 2022-07-11146
  8. Townsend LK, Steinberg GR (2023). AMPK and the endocrine control of metabolism. Endocrine Reviews. DOI: 10.1210/endrev/bnad012
  9. Desjardins EM, Smith BK, Day EA, Ducommun S, Sanders MJ, Nederveen JP, Ford RJ, Pinkosky SL, Townsend LK, Gutgesell RM, Lu R, Sakamoto K, Steinberg GR (2022). The phosphorylation of AMPK1 is critical for increasing autophagy and maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis in response to fatty acids. PNAS. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2119824119
  10. Townsend LK, Weber AJ, Day EA, Shamshoum H, Shaw SJ, Perry CGR, Kemp BE, Steinberg GR, Wright DC (2020). AMPK Mediates Energetic Stress-Induced Liver GDF15. FASEB, DOI: 10.1096/fj.202000954R

Logan Townsend - Google Scholar