# Training in Obesity Research

> **NIH NIH T32** · LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR · 2021 · $320,284

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Obesity is rampant in the U.S. and has been acknowledged as a leading cause of death. Obesity has
been linked to diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and cancer. Efforts to understand
and manage this complex disease have met with modest success such that obesity and particularly severe
obesity continues to grow in prevalence at an alarming rate in both adults and children. It is likely that research
which transcends traditional boundaries of research and focuses on transdisciplinary approaches to research
questions may provide the answers needed to conquer this grave threat to public health. This application is a
request for renewal funding for the Pennington Biomedical Research Center-LSU training program originally
titled “Obesity: From Genes to Man”. This T32 program which trains postdoctoral fellows was first funded in
2003, and successfully renewed in 2007 and 2012. The aim of this application, now titled “Training in Obesity
Research” is to train postdoctoral fellows in the complex interactions between genetic, molecular,
physiological, behavioral and population aspects of obesity. The objective of the Training in Obesity Research
T32 program is to prepare postdoctoral fellows to become productive research scientists capable of
establishing independent scientific careers in academia, governmental agencies, and in the private sector.
These junior scientists will further the efforts of the NIH to understand obesity and attenuate its impact on
public health. During their 2-3 years of training, the postdocs will be exposed to the model of team science and
will receive instruction in scientific writing, grant writing, methods to assure rigor and reproducibility of research,
and the use of big data and bioinformatics. The program will take advantage of the cutting-edge technologies
and the wide range of research efforts related to obesity available at Pennington Biomedical. This broad-
based, training program will enable trainees to acquire transdisciplinary research skills and write papers and
competitive grant proposals addressing important questions, which will move our science forward and help
them to develop into independent researchers. Pennington Biomedical is committed to postdoctoral research
training and sees this as inseparable from their goal of excellence in research. This application is requesting
five (5) additional years of funding for five (5) trainee positions per year.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10170335
- **Project number:** 5T32DK064584-18
- **Recipient organization:** LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** PHILLIP J BRANTLEY
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $320,284
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2003-07-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10170335

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10170335, Training in Obesity Research (5T32DK064584-18). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10170335. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*