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