At the cellular level, fat cells enlarge when we gain weight and they shrink when we lose weight. This mode of weight gain and loss is how we gain or lose weight in essentially all contexts, including diet, exercise, drug therapy, and metabolic and bariatric surgery. Fat cell enlargement is a natural part of the maturation process and contributes to disease when fat cells become too big.
In metabolic diseases, fat cells become enlarged and dysfunctional, disrupting normal metabolic processes and hormone levels.
Fat dysfunction and altered endocrinology contributes to insulin resistance, inflammation, and fibrosis leading to chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, MASH, and more.
MelliCell’s proprietary M3 technology enables the controlled growth of fat cells to different physiological states including obesity, providing unprecedented access to mature fat cells at scale for the development of fat cell-targeted therapies. Our approaches enabled by M3 technology include the following:
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MelliCell, a biotech company pioneering fat-targeted therapeutics for obesity and associated chronic disease, is proud to announce that Dr. Davide Ruggero, PhD, has joined its scientific advisory board. This addition reinforces MelliCell’s commitment to scientific excellence and innovation to improve human health.
Dr. Ruggero is the Goldberg-Benioff and Hellen Diller Family Endowed Chair, American Cancer Society Research Professor, and Professor of Urology and Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. He is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking research on how impairments in the control of mRNA translation and protein synthesis contribute to human disease. His laboratory’s pioneering work in translational control has opened new biological pathways and has laid the foundation for developing next-generation therapeutics that modulate the cellular proteome at the post-genomic level.
"Dr. Ruggero’s longstanding expertise in how the pathways that control translation steer key biological processes and intersect with human metabolism is a perfect complement to MelliCell’s mission and progress to date," said Dr. Ben Pope, CEO of MelliCell. "His discoveries have laid a groundwork that will play a critical role in guiding the development of our pipeline and platform technology."
Dr. Ruggero has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Outstanding Research Fellow Award, the V-Scholar Foundation’s Award for Cancer Research, the AACR Gertrude B. Elion Research Award, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar Award, the Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from the National Institutes of Health, and the prestigious American Cancer Society Professor Award. He is also the inventor of multiple clinical-stage drug candidates and the founding scientist of Effector Therapeutics (NASDAQ: EFTR), a biotech company that pioneered therapeutics targeting human protein translation. His leadership will help drive MelliCell’s mission forward as MelliCell prepares its first development candidates for clinical trials.
"I’m excited to join MelliCell at a time when a deeper understanding of adipocyte biology is reshaping our view of chronic diseases," said Dr. Ruggero. "MelliCell’s innovative technology is uncovering novel therapeutic strategies to reverse the progression of obesity and over 200 associated complications including cancer. MelliCell is getting at the root of chronic disease and I’m beyond excited to support the vision."
About MelliCell:
MelliCell Inc. is a biotechnology company redefining how fat cells are studied and targeted in chronic disease. By developing models that grow mature human adipocytes with physiological relevance, MelliCell is unlocking new insights into how fat cells contribute to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other metabolic conditions. Through its proprietary M3 technology, MelliCell is building a foundation for the next generation of therapies aimed at the cellular root of metabolic dysfunction.
For more information, please visit
MelliCell, a biotech company pioneering fat-targeted therapeutics for obesity and associated chronic disease, is proud to announce that Dr. Davide Ruggero, PhD, has joined its scientific advisory board. This addition reinforces MelliCell’s commitment to scientific excellence and innovation to improve human health.
Dr. Ruggero is the Goldberg-Benioff and Hellen Diller Family Endowed Chair, American Cancer Society Research Professor, and Professor of Urology and Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. He is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking research on how impairments in the control of mRNA translation and protein synthesis contribute to human disease. His laboratory’s pioneering work in translational control has opened new biological pathways and has laid the foundation for developing next-generation therapeutics that modulate the cellular proteome at the post-genomic level.
"Dr. Ruggero’s longstanding expertise in how the pathways that control translation steer key biological processes and intersect with human metabolism is a perfect complement to MelliCell’s mission and progress to date," said Dr. Ben Pope, CEO of MelliCell. "His discoveries have laid a groundwork that will play a critical role in guiding the development of our pipeline and platform technology."
Dr. Ruggero has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Outstanding Research Fellow Award, the V-Scholar Foundation’s Award for Cancer Research, the AACR Gertrude B. Elion Research Award, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar Award, the Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from the National Institutes of Health, and the prestigious American Cancer Society Professor Award. He is also the inventor of multiple clinical-stage drug candidates and the founding scientist of Effector Therapeutics (NASDAQ: EFTR), a biotech company that pioneered therapeutics targeting human protein translation. His leadership will help drive MelliCell’s mission forward as MelliCell prepares its first development candidates for clinical trials.
"I’m excited to join MelliCell at a time when a deeper understanding of adipocyte biology is reshaping our view of chronic diseases," said Dr. Ruggero. "MelliCell’s innovative technology is uncovering novel therapeutic strategies to reverse the progression of obesity and over 200 associated complications including cancer. MelliCell is getting at the root of chronic disease and I’m beyond excited to support the vision."
About MelliCell:
MelliCell Inc. is a biotechnology company redefining how fat cells are studied and targeted in chronic disease. By developing models that grow mature human adipocytes with physiological relevance, MelliCell is unlocking new insights into how fat cells contribute to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other metabolic conditions. Through its proprietary M3 technology, MelliCell is building a foundation for the next generation of therapies aimed at the cellular root of metabolic dysfunction.
For more information, please visit
