# Gut epithelial control of nutrient reward

> **NIH NIH K01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $133,074

## Abstract

ABSTRACT/PROJECT SUMMARY
The negative health burden of obesity leads to an estimated 500,000 deaths in the United States
annually. Obesity and related metabolic disorders are caused by the excess consumption of
palatable, densely caloric foods. People with obesity have diminished reward from food. Although the
taste of food can elicit a rewarding feeling, the intestine is required for food reward. How the gut
signals this reward to the brain is unknown. My long-term career goal is the document the physiologic
regulation of food intake for better treatment of obesity. With the support of the NIH Mentored
Research Scientist Development Award – K01, the objective of this proposal is to define the role of a
specialized intestinal sensory cell in food reward and obesity. This proposal is built on recent
fundamental discoveries that have established how nutrient choice is guided by specialized neuropod
cells in the duodenum. Building on these observations, the objectives of this proposal are three-fold:
(1) to establish the role of duodenal neuropod cells in reward-driven feeding; (2) map the functional
brain targets of duodenal neuropod cells; and (3) determine the effects of duodenal neuropod cells on
hyperphagia and obesity. Defining how reward is signaled from the gut to the brain to guide ingestive
behavior will allow for novel pharmacotherapies for the treatment of obesity. Together with my
mentoring team, we have designed this project to provide me with the necessary research and
professional training for me to excel as an independent investigator at the intersection of
gastroenterology and neuroscience.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10784863
- **Project number:** 1K01DK138286-01
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Laura Eloise Rupprecht
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $133,074
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01 → 2028-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10784863

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10784863, Gut epithelial control of nutrient reward (1K01DK138286-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10784863. Licensed CC0.

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