Dr. Katsu Funai, associate professor with the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, has been selected as a Presidential Scholar at University of Utah, a recognition that celebrates excellence and achievement among associate professors.
Made possible through the generous support of an anonymous donor committed to strengthening the university by supporting outstanding mid-career faculty, this honor provides $10,000 per year for three years in discretionary funding to advance Professor Funai’s scholarship.
Funai was nominated by Distinguished Professor and Chair Scott A. Summers and Dean Kelly Tappenden, and selected from an exceptional pool of nominees across the university. Funai will be recognized as a Presidential Scholar during the 2025–2026, 2026–2027, and 2027–2028 academic years, and will be formally honored at a gathering on November 20, 2025, alongside the other members of this year’s Presidential Scholar cohort.
Funai leads the Funai Laboratory, which is dedicated to understanding the intracellular fate of lipids and their impact on cellular energetics, particularly the role of mitochondrial membrane lipid composition in health and disease. His pioneering research has shown how exercise, inactivity, and metabolic insults alter mitochondrial lipids, reshaping bioenergetics and influencing the development of metabolic disorders. Building on his postdoctoral work with Clay Semenkovich, Funai established his laboratory at the University of Utah in 2013 and has since published influential studies across multiple tissues, including skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, liver, pancreatic β cells, and kidney. His lab, currently funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association, continues to advance the understanding of lipid biology and its role in metabolic health.