Obesity and its associated co-morbidities are major health problems in our society, contributing to diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and stroke, hypertension, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The objective of this postdoctoral training program is to provide a productive learning experience in biomedical research related to obesity. 0This application describes a comprehensive training program that takes advantage of a cadre of distinguished faculty mentors, a strong research environment endowed with technology core facilities, an extensive array of genetically defined mouse models and established human clinical populations, and a curriculum that allows educational opportunities to augment scientific knowledge, career development, and training in the responsible conduct of research. This program is unique in that a trainee will receive mentoring from two faculty members, each of a distinct scientific team , to promote the development and execution of an interdisciplinary research project to examine the behavioral, metabolic, and molecular events that cause obesity and the metabolic syndrome. This team-approach is supported by the collaborative environment of our 26 faculty members, drawn from 14 different Departments and Centers that have been organized into four teams to focus on The Central Regulation of Energy Metabolism (Team 1: Neuroanatomy, Neurobiology, Psychiatry), The Molecular Biology of Energy Metabolism (Team 2: Biochemistry, Molecular Genetics, Molecular Biology, and Physiology), In vivo Intermediary Metabolism (Team 3: Advanced Imaging, Human Nutrition, Hepatology/Gastroenterology), and Human Genetics and Energy Metabolism (Team 4: Bariatric Surgery, Clinical Epidemiology, and Genetics). Individuals accepted into this program will have a Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D., or M.D. degree and will have acquired some experience in one of many disciplines integral to this work prior to beginning their three-year fellowship. However, their training with two mentors, and work in two or more collaborative laboratory settings will allow them to become fluent in multiple, often disparate scientific languages (e.g. molecular biology, radiology, neuroanatomay,, nutrition, psychiatry, human genetics) thus permitting them to critically address unique scientific problems in an interdisciplinary manner. This program is designed, therefore, to train individuals who will become effective teachers and investigators capable of cutting-edge research in obesity.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Linked Research Training Award (RL9)
Project #
5RL9DK081180-02
Application #
7500719
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRR1-SRC (99))
Program Officer
Castle, Arthur
Project Start
2007-09-30
Project End
2012-06-30
Budget Start
2008-07-01
Budget End
2009-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$123,420
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Sw Medical Center Dallas
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
800771545
City
Dallas
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
75390
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Sunny, Nishanth E; Parks, Elizabeth J; Browning, Jeffrey D et al. (2011) Excessive hepatic mitochondrial TCA cycle and gluconeogenesis in humans with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Cell Metab 14:804-10
Sunny, Nishanth E; Satapati, Santhosh; Fu, Xiaorong et al. (2010) Progressive adaptation of hepatic ketogenesis in mice fed a high-fat diet. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 298:E1226-35
Holland, William L; Scherer, Philipp E (2009) PAQRs: a counteracting force to ceramides? Mol Pharmacol 75:740-3