The National Institutes of Health announced in August the award of a new R21 research grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to a UK multi-PI research team including Marlene Starr, PhD, Division Chief of Research and Preetha Shridas, PhD from Internal Medicine.
The research project, entitled “The Role of Lipids in Obesity-mediated Protection in Sepsis” is funded for two years. In addition to Dr. Starr, the project co-investigators include Surgery faculty members Dan Davenport, PhD, Dr. Alexis Nickols, and Dr. William B. Inabnet III.
Having delved into several studies involving sepsis over the years, Dr. Starr notes that “obesity is paradoxically associated with improved survival during sepsis and other critical illness, however, the mechanistic basis for this protection is not understood.”
The research team on this funded project will investigate whether improved outcomes from sepsis may be related to circulating lipids, which are elevated in obese patients. Considering the health risks that obesity causes, the findings from this study will help physicians understand the processes at play and develop strategies and other therapeutic interventions that can be applied to the treatment of sepsis.