NADIS 1.0 Interview: Riekelt Houtkooper
Riekelt, you are the coordinator of the NADIS project. What was the motivation behind creating such a network and what do you hope to achieve with it?
Riekelt: This network emerged because we were collaborating with a couple of the people who are now within NADIS, also the PIs, including Morten, Evandro, Carles, and Eija. We already collaborated for quite some time. Some of us already shared a history, being postdocs in the same lab.
And so, every conference that we would go to, we would say, we need to do something together at some point. And it never really happened. And then this opportunity arose and we thought we should go for it.
We should go for it and actually make it happen. We should work together. And we never looked back. Well, we look back now. And it has been a great pleasure with all the people on board. It has been and continues to be fantastic.
Thanks to the wonderful doctoral candidates, of course, including yourself.
It’s also really inspirational to work together with people from different backgrounds, different scientific backgrounds, different cultural backgrounds, and work together on a unified mission to basically use NAD⁺ as a treatment for disease, age-related disease.
Thank you Riekelt. Your own group has published significant findings on NAD⁺ precursors, and well knowing that it’s not only researchers who take NAD⁺ precursors, could you explain in simple terms what these are and what their therapeutic potential is, and what are some of the biggest challenges you face in your research on NAD⁺ and aging?
Riekelt: Yes, I think the preclinical evidence for NAD⁺ precursors is fantastic. I mean, not only if you look at the papers by our group, but also by many other groups also here at ARDD, that have been published over the years in mice, in fruit flies, in C. elegans, they show a magnificent effect in a variety of health conditions, whether it’s aging or age-related diseases, they always seem to work.
The big challenge is to translate that to the human situation, clinical trials with nicotinamide riboside, nicotinamide mononucleotide, or other NAD⁺ precursors, they are not universally positive. Some report a minimal positive effect. Others are not positive at all.
So, I think what we need is more clinical trials that are sufficiently powered to really have big study groups. Also, we need to expand on what kind of diseases we are targeting with this kind of therapy, and we need to properly measure in tissues, in blood, well, actually in all compartments that we can have access to, what is happening with NAD⁺ and the downstream pathways.
Looking ahead with the current NADIS project is well underway, can you give a little hint or a teaser about what’s coming next about NADIS 2.0, what it might look like, what new scientific frontiers might be explored?
Riekelt: Yes, indeed, we’re well underway. I think the first PhD students from the network are due to graduate next year already. That means we are, in a way, almost done. We need to think about the next steps, and we would love to continue, it’s a fantastic group of people to work with.
So, this Marie Curie program, we have the opportunity now, in the next round, to expand to 15 doctoral candidates, so we can include some more industry partners, we can include some more academic partners, to expand the ideas that we have, not only to age-related diseases, but maybe also to rare genetic diseases, where we see, at least in preclinical models, that NAD⁺-based therapies are working. And so, this would be a wonderful opportunity to continue, and thereby train, again, the next generation of scientists, after the current generation that we are training, to make them also ready for a scientific career, whether it’s in academia or industry, or wherever they end up.
The NADIS network is focused on NAD⁺ metabolism, and it’s a rapidly evolving field. And speaking of future, what do you think is the next big question that we need to answer in the field of NAD⁺ metabolism, and how do you think NADIS 2.0 could help answering that question?
Riekelt: To me, it’s all about the translation to humans, because for the past 15 years, everything, or not everything, but a lot has been preclinical models, mice and other models. I think we really need to go to humans, so we really need to understand how NAD⁺ metabolism is working in humans, in human tissues, and how can we use therapies in humans.
Whether it’s age-related diseases or rare genetic diseases, that, to me, is less important. I think both present with current unmet medical needs and enormous challenges, but also enormous opportunities. So, I think that’s the way we should go.
I have one final question for you. What is your biggest advice or recommendation for young scientists who want to enter the field of NAD⁺ research?
Riekelt: Some people are more introverted than others, and that sometimes makes it a challenge to connect to people and to network, and I’ve experienced that myself as well. But persistent pays off, and building these relations and practicing that and going for it ultimately will lead to one form of success. So, it will happen, it will work, even if you’re shy.
Once you try and you see that it actually leads to something, you’ll build the confidence and will get in a position where you enjoy being.
Thank you so much Riekelt.