Woman with hands pressed against stomach.

Impact of our T32 NIH Training Grant

T32 - NIH Training Grant on Metabolic Disease

An NIH-funded T32 training grant entitled “Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences: Multidisciplinary Approaches for Metabolic Disease,” housed in our division of nutritional sciences, allowed biomedical scientists to prepare for academic careers in research focused on pharmacological and nutritional approaches to prevent and treat metabolic-based disorders. The training faculty came from eight different departments in four Colleges across the University of Kentucky campus bringing expertise in the four theme areas of the training grant: obesity/diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neuroscience/aging.

The grant allowed trainees and researchers to work in a transdisciplinary context with access to expanded research opportunities. Such grants have historically been awarded to our department because of our enduring commitment to transformative research and to train the next generation of pharmacological and nutritional experts.

Spotlight:

Pre-doctoral scholars who were impacted by the grant

Chi Peng, Pharmacology

Project Description:  Efficacy of the macrolide antibiotic, azithromycin (AZM), and derivatives in modulating the deleterious inflammatory responses after myocardial infarction, particularly in the setting of diabetes. 

Major Advisor:  Ahmed Abdel-Latif, MD PhD, Department of Internal Medicine

Rupinder Kaur, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Project Description:  Pathways in the liver and intestine that maintain cholesterol elimination and homeostasis. 

Major Advisor:  Greg Graf, PhD, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences 
 

Lucille Yanckello, Nutritional Sciences

Project Description:  Caloric restriction and prebiotics as novel nutritional interventions in the treatment of age-related neurodegeneration and traumatic brain injury. 

Major Advisor: Ai-Ling Lin, PhD, department of pharmacology and nutritional sciences

Stephanie Rock, Toxicology and Cancer Biology

Project Description: The role of intestinal hormone secretion on intestinal stem cell function in the context of high-fat diet.  

Major Advisor:  B. Mark Evers, MD, Department of Surgery

Gabriella Pugh, Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics

Project Description:  Mechanisms regulating the pro-inflammatory pathways that underlie the Th17 profile and metabolic status of individuals with obesity. 

Major Advisor:  Barbara Nikolajczyck, PhD, Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences