Energy Balance and Body Composition Core C

The energy balance and body composition core provides the equipment and technical expertise for measurement of lean/fat mass and whole body metabolism in mice. Because the primary focus of the COCVD is to identify mechanisms linking obesity to cardiovascular disease, it is imperative to obtain a sensitive, reproducible quantitative analysis of these measures of adiposity and metabolism. The Echo MRI is utilized for non-invasive quantitative assessment of lean and fat mass.

Many of the COCVD purposed studies examine chronic diet-induced obesity and its influence on cardiovascular diseases. This makes a non-invasive assessment of fat and lean mass necessary for longitudinal assessment of the effects of obesity during the development and progression of cardiovascular disease. The obesity core has incorporated equipment for computerized quantitative measurement of oxygen consumption, food intake, water intake, and physical activity in mice. This system is located in dedicated space within the division of laboratory animal resources and is available to investigators of the COCVD.

Resources for COCVD Investigators

PPMS Project Submission Process

Energy Balance Core (EBC) - EchoMRI

  1. Contact Wendy Katz for training and authorization if you are not already authorized.
  2. Reserve the room through EMS and the machine through PPMS
  3. Submit an order through PPMS indicating the number of mice scanned
  4. Note: the person in whose name the reservation was made must be the one to log in to use the EchoMRI software.
  5. To view fees, click on “Order” in the blue bar at top of the PPMS page.  The fee is per mouse. For fiscal year 7/1/22 - 6/30/23 the COBRE will subsidize 50% of the fee for internal users.

Energy Balance Core (EBC) – Calorimetry

  1. Log into https://ppms.us/Kentucky/start/ and select “EBC”
  2. Click “Request” in the blue bar at top to fill out and submit a project form
  3. Follow up with an email to wkatz@uky.edu to confirm scheduling and mouse drop-off arrangements.
  4. To view fees, click on “Order” in the blue bar at top of the PPMS page.  The fee is per mouse per day.  For fiscal year July 1 2022-June 30 2023 the COBRE will subsidize 50% of the fee for internal users.

Core Assistant Director and Contact

Wendy Katz, PhD
Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences
Room 577, Charles T. Wethington Building
900 S. Limestone Street
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40536-0200
Phone: 859-218-1419