Richard Lehner, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

obesity fatty liver disease atherosclerosis lipids lipoproteins lipid droplets cancer

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About

I have obtained my undergraduate education in chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Chemical Technology in Prague and at the University of Toronto and my PhD in biochemistry from the University of Toronto. I then pursued postdoctoral training at CNRS in France and at the University of Alberta. Currently I am a professor in the Department of Pediatrics, as well as adjunct professor in the Department of Cell Biology, a member of a research group on Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids and of several FoMD Institutes (ADI, CRINA, CVRI and WCHRI). I served as Associate Dean Research, Facilities and Cores (2018-2020) and as Vice Dean Research, Basic (2020-2025) in the FoMD. My main research interests lie in the understanding of the regulation of hepatic fat storage and metabolism and identification of novel therapeutic targets for lowering hepatic and blood lipid levels. Our research been recognized nationally and internationally (Pfizer Cardiovascular Research Award, Harvard Medical School Anna Lee Memorial Lectureship, Canadian Lipoprotein Conference Simon Pierre Noel Lectureship). Our research is currently supported by grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). 

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Research

Excessive fat storage is manifested as obesity, which is a major health problem world-wide. Obesity is a risk factor for hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease. Our research is focused at elucidating the mechanism of fat storage in lipid droplets, fat hydrolysis (lipases) and fat secretion. In particular, we are interested in identifying and characterizing intracellular lipid hydrolases that may regulate fat storage and utilization in the liver. We have generated various experimental models and developed a number of experimental protocols to study lipid accretion, turnover and secretion. Our research has identified new regulatory pathway of intracellular lipid metabolism and identified potential new pharmacological targets to treat lipid metabolic disorders. More information can be found on our website (https://www.ualberta.ca/cellbiology/people/faculty/richard-lehner.html).

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Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

Classroom: Classroom should be stimulating engaging environment. My goal is to provide interactive environment where learning material is supported with personal experiences in research discoveries and teaching mentors. While retention of information is important, even more important is the development of critical thinking process and understanding and hence I feel the most important questions are “why” and “how”.  Understanding concepts in biology is much more important than memorizing biological pathways. I try to instill excitement for the learning material and associate the material with major landmarks (Nobel Prizes, development of therapies for diseases, etc.).

Mentorship of undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows: My mentoring approach is unified by several mottoes that are engraved in our laboratory manual: “There are no shortcuts for anything worthwhile” by Dr. Robert Hegele; “The harder I work the luckier I get” by Samuel Goldwyn; “You miss 100% of shots you do not take” by Wayne Gretzky; “Stay hungry, stay foolish” by Steve Jobs; and “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” by Ralph W. Emerson. Graduate students should develop critical thinking skills, independence, and by the time they graduate they should be able to conduct hypothesis-driven research, design controlled experiments, critically analyze data and communicate their discoveries in a scholarly manner.

Jihong Lian, Russell Watts, Randal Nelson, John P. Kennelly, Aducio Thiesen, Ariel D. Quiroga, Donna Vine, Robin D. Clugston, René L. Jacobs, Richard Lehner

2026 May; 10.64898/2026.05.08.723884

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Rajakumar Selvaraj, Jihong Lian, Russell Watts, Randal Nelson, Michael F. Saikali, Carolyn L. Cummins, Richard Lehner

Cells. 2025 October; 10.3390/cells14191548

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Hussain A., Lian J., Watts R., Gutiérrez T., Nelson R., Goping I.S., Lehner R.

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids. 2022 April; 1867 (4) 10.1016/j.bbalip.2022.159124

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Carlin S., Kennelly J.P., Fedoruk H., Quiroga A., Leonard K.A., Nelson R., Thiesen A., Buteau J., Lehner R., Jacobs R.

Biochimica et Biophysioca Acta MCBL. 2022 April; 1867 (4) 10.1016/j.bbalip.2021.159109

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Li G., Li X., Yang L., Wang S., Dai Y., Fekry B., Veillon L., Tan L., Berdeaux R., Eckel-Mahan K., Lorenzi P.L., Zhao Z., Lehner R., Sun K.

Life Science Alliance. 2022 April; 5 (8) 10.26508/lsa.202101209

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Szafran B.N., Borazjani A., Scheaffer H.L., Crow J.A., McBride A.M., Adekanye O., Wonnacott C.B., Lehner R., Kaplan B.L.F., Ross M.K.

ACS Pharmacology and Translational Sciences. 2022 January; 10.1021/acsptsci.2c00098

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Szafran B.N., Borazjani A., Seay C.N., Carr R.L., Lehner R., Kaplan B.L.F., Ross M.K.

Chemical Research in Toxicology. 2021 June; 34 (6):1556-1571 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.0c00488

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Rajakumar Selvaraj, Sarah V. Zehnder, Russell Watts, Jihong Lian, Randal Nelson, Richard Lehner

2021 June; 10.1101/2021.06.18.449045

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Rajakumar Selvaraj, Sarah, V. Zehnder, Russell Watts, Jihong Lian, Randal Nelson, and Richard Lehner

BIORXIV. 2021 June; BIORXIV-2021-449045v1 10.1101/2021.06.18.449045

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Richard Lehner and Ariel D. Quiroga

Biochemistry of Lipids, Lipoproteins and Membranes. 2021 May; ISBN: 978-0-12-8240448-9

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Anastasia I., Ilacqua N., Raimondi A., Lemieux P., Ghandehari-Alavijeh R., Faure G., Mekhedov S.L., Williams K.J., Caicci F., Valle G., Giacomello M., Quiroga A.D., Lehner R., Miksis M.J., Toth K., de Aguiar Vallim T.Q., Koonin E.V., Scorrano L., Pellegrini L.

Cell Reports. 2021 March; 34 (11) 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108873

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Lian J., van der Veen J.N., Watts R., Jacobs R.L., Lehner R.

Journal of Lipid Research. 2021 January; 62 10.1016/J.JLR.2021.100093

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Cell Reports. 2021 January; 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108873

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Journal of Lipid Research. 2019 January; 10.1194/jlr.M092544

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Biochemical Pharmacology. 2018 January; 10.1016/j.bcp.2018.07.005

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Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids. 2018 January; 10.1016/j.bbalip.2018.04.002

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Protein and Cell. 2018 January; 10.1007/s13238-017-0437-z

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Journal of Proteomics. 2018 January; 10.1016/j.jprot.2018.04.024

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Wesam Bahitham, Russell Watts, Randal Nelson, Jihong Lian, Richard Lehner

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids. 2016 May; 10.1016/j.bbalip.2016.03.009

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Scientific Reports. 2016 January; 10.1038/srep25747

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Biochemistry of Lipids, Lipoproteins and Membranes: Sixth Edition. 2016 January; 10.1016/B978-0-444-63438-2.00005-5

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Cell Reports. 2016 January; 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.03.020

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Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2015 January; 10.1161/ATVBAHA.114.304584

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Journal of Hepatology. 2013 January; 10.1016/j.jhep.2013.03.022

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Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids. 2013 January; 10.1016/j.bbalip.2013.01.017

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PLoS ONE. 2012 January; 10.1371/journal.pone.0049515

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Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2012 January; 10.1161/ATVBAHA.111.241497

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Hepatology. 2012 January; 10.1002/hep.25881

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Hepatology. 2012 January; 10.1002/hep.25961

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Circulation Research. 2012 January; 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.112.267468

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Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2011 January; 10.1016/j.tem.2011.03.003

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Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2010 January; 10.1091/mbc.E09-05-0364

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Journal of Lipid Research. 2010 January; 10.1194/jlr.M000596

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Cell Metabolism. 2010 January; 10.1016/j.cmet.2010.02.005

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