If you're here, mitochondria might be your favorite organelles. Mine too.

We all know they're the powerhouses of the cell, but mitochondria do so much more than that, serving as a source of secondary metabolites and playing key signaling roles in health and disease. Even though we know so much about mitochondria, 25% of their proteins have no known function!I'm Chris Auger, a Canadian research fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. Using high-resolution respirometry, rigorous bioenergetic analyses and physiological measurements in genetic models, I study and uncover roles for these proteins. Want to talk mitochondria? Feel free to reach out!

Biography

After receiving my PhD in Biomolecular Sciences, I became a Research Associate in the lab of Dr. Marc Jeschke in Toronto, where I studied the burn-induced hypermetabolic response. The magnitude of the adrenergic response in burn patients leads to loss of fat and lean mass which predisposes them to infections and sepsis. Our aim was to mitigate these outcomes, predominantly by decreasing the thermogenic response in adipose tissue via pharmacological treatments. I used this expertise to secure a position in Dr. Shingo Kajimura's lab in Boston, where I've expanded my skillset to uncover roles for the micropeptide another regulin (ALN) and orphan mitochondrial transporters. In my free time, you might find me in the gym, hiking around New England with my partner, or reading Cell Biology for Babies to my daughter.

Recent publications

Auger C, Nishida H, Yuan B, Martins Silva G, Li M, Katoh D, Wang D, Granath-Panelo M, Fujimoto M, Shin J, Verkerke ARP, Banks AS, Hui S, Sun L, Kajimura S. Mitochondrial control of fuel switching through de novo carnitine synthesis. In revision. 2025Auger C, Li M, Fujimoto M, Ikeda K, Yook JS, O’Leary TR, Caycedo MPH, Xiaohan C, Oikawa S, Verkerke ARP, Shinoda K, Griffin PR, Inaba K, Stimson RH, Kajimura S. Identification of a molecular resistance that controls UCP1-independent Ca2+ cycling thermogenesis in adipose tissue. Cell Metab. 2025;37:1311-1325.Verkerke, ARP, Shi X, Li M, Higuchi Y, Yamamuro T, Katoh D, Nishida H, Auger C, Abe I, Gerszten RE, Kajimura S. SLC25A48 controls mitochondrial choline import and metabolism. Cell Metab. 2024;36:2156-2166.Verkerke ARP, Wang D, Yoshida N, Taxin ZH, Shi X, Zheng S, Li Y, Auger C, Oikawa S, Yook J, Granath-Panelo M, He W, Zhang G, Matsushita M, Saito M, Gerszten RE, Mills EL, Banks AS, Ishihama Y, White PJ, McGarrah RW, Yoneshiro T, Kajimura S. Uncoupling Metabolic Health from Thermogenesis via BCAA Nitrogen Flux in Brown Fat. Cell. 2024;187:2359-2374.Knuth CM, Barayan D, Lee JH, Auger C, de Brito Monteiro L, Ricciuti Z, Metko D, Wells L, Sung HK, Screaton RA, Jeschke MG. Subcutaneous white adipose tissue independently regulates burn-induced hypermetabolism. Cell Rep. 2023;43:113584.Rehou S, de Brito Monteiro L, Auger C, Knuth CM, Abdullahi A, Stanojvic M, Jeschke MG. Propranolol Normalizes Metabolic Signatures Thereby Improving Outcomes After Burn. Ann. Surg. 2023;278:519-529.Yook JS, Taxin ZH, Yuan B, Oikawa S, Auger C, Mutlu B, Puigserver P, Hui S, Kajimura S. The SLC25A47 locus controls gluconeogenesis and energy expenditure. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A. 2023;120:e2216810120.Abe I, Oguri Y, Verkerke ARP, Monteiro LB, Knuth CM, Auger C, Qiu Y, Westcott GP, Cinti S, Shinoda K, Jeschke MG, Kajimura S. Lipolysis-derived linoleic acid drives beige fat progenitor cell proliferation. Dev. Cell. 2022;57:2623-2637.Auger C, Kajimura S. Adipose Tissue Remodeling in Pathophysiology. Annu. Rev. Pathol. Mech. Dis. 2023;18:71-93.Abdullahi A, Knuth CM, Auger C, Sivayoganathan T, Parousis A, Jeschke MG. Adipose browning response to burn trauma is impaired with aging. JCI Insight. 2021;6:e143451.Auger C, Kajimura S. Detouring adrenergic stimulation to induce adipose thermogenesis. Nat. Rev. Endocrinol. 2021;17:579-580.Kaur S, Auger C, Barayan D, Shah P, Matveev A, Knuth CM, Harris TE, Jeschke MG. Adipose-specific ATGL ablation reduces burn injury-induced metabolic derangements in mice. Clin. Transl. Med. 2021;11:e417.