It’s the little things that count: lessons in metabolism, academia and life

Welcome to Jennifer Miles-Chan's Inaugural Lecture, "It’s the little things that count: lessons in metabolism, academia and life".

Join us in SLT1 Lecture Theatre 303-G01, on May 21, 2026 at 5:15pm, for a 5:30pm start. Some refreshments will be provided after the lecture.

Abstract

Metabolic health is rarely determined by dramatic single events. Instead, our metabolism is shaped by small, everyday processes: revealing subtle variations both within and between people in how we use energy, how we store it, and how flexible we are to change. On their own, these differences can seem negligible. But current research suggests that when they persist or accumulate over time, small variations can have surprisingly large consequences for metabolic health and disease risk.

In this lecture, I will explore emerging evidence that small, sustained differences in energy metabolism - often overlooked – play an important role in shaping long term metabolic trajectories. I will also reflect on how this perspective has influenced my own research, and how a series of small (and not so small) opportunities, collaborations, and fortunate encounters have similarly accumulated to shape my academic path. Together, these stories highlight a shared theme: that sometimes it’s the smallest things that can make the biggest difference.

Biography

Professor Jennifer Miles‑Chan is an integrative physiologist and Director of the Human Nutrition Unit at the University of Auckland - Australasia’s only long‑stay residential nutrition trial facility, and one of only a few globally. Uniquely designed to study cause‑and‑effect relationships between diet, metabolism, and health.

Jennifer completed her PhD at the University of Auckland and spent a formative period of her career at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, experiences that strongly shaped her interest in metabolism, adaptation, and individual variability. She returned to Auckland in 2017 as a Sir Charles Hercus Research Fellow. Her research focuses on nutritional energetics, body composition, and metabolism, driven by a deceptively simple question: why do some people seem more vulnerable to poor metabolic health than others? Ultimately her work aims to better understand inequities in metabolic disease risk and to inform more targeted prevention and treatment strategies, particularly for those at higher risk of obesity, metabolic dysregulation, or type 2 diabetes. Jennifer is also a Principal Investigator with the Riddet Institute Centre of Research Excellence, and an Associate Investigator with the Maurice Wilkins Centre.

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Host or Publisher Faculty of Science, University of Auckland