# The Contribution of Omic Profiles to Weight Loss and Obesity

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2024 · $158,779

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a complex process, with obesity being a major risk factor.
Weight loss among overweight/obese individuals is a key component of the primary prevention of CVD, but
there is marked variability across individuals in response to lifestyle weight loss interventions. It is critical to
improve our understanding of drivers of weight loss responsiveness as this may help identify causal factors in
obesity and may ultimately lead to new or more personalized prevention or treatment opportunities. This study
will examine how genetics, gut microbiota (GM), and metabolites contribute towards measures of
responsiveness during an ongoing 1-year lifestyle weight loss trial of the standard weight loss approach, daily
caloric restriction (DCR), versus a novel alternative, intermittent fasting (IMF). This understanding of the causal
relationships between omic profiles and weight loss/health improvements in an interventional setting will target
an investigation into GM and metabolites as mediators of the association between genetic obesity risk and
obesity-related phenotypes in larger epidemiological cohorts. Preliminary data from a participant subset in the
intervention that provides evidence of feasibility and informs the hypotheses for the following innovative aims:
Aim 1: Assess longitudinal changes in GM and metabolites, as well as the predominant drivers of these
changes, during a lifestyle weight loss intervention of DCR versus IMF. Aim 2: Evaluate associations of a
measure of genetic risk for obesity and GM/metabolites with responsiveness during a lifestyle weight loss
intervention. Aim 3: Investigate whether GM/metabolites mediate the association between a multiethnic
obesity polygenic risk score and measures of obesity in two epidemiological cohorts.
This Career Development Award will also provide the Candidate with the opportunity to gain important skills
and expertise. She has a clear plan to gain training related to: 1) processing shotgun metagenomic GM and
metabolomic data; 2) causal inference and other relevant methods for the analysis of multi-omics data; and 3)
multiethnic polygenic risk scores. The training plan involves coursework, conference attendance, and in-person
training with leading scholars, in conjunction with guidance from a mentorship team of renowned leaders in
their respective fields of genetic epidemiology (Dr. Leslie Lange; Primary Mentor), bioinformatics and the
human gut microbiome (Dr. Catherine Lozupone), biostatistics (Dr. Katerina Kechris), and clinical weight loss
interventions (Dr. Victoria Catenacci). This training plan combines the exceptional research environment at the
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus with generous institutional support and ample resources, as
well as an outstanding network of advisors. This work will facilitate the candidate's successful transition to an
independent career in molecular epidemiology with the expertise to integ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10792910
- **Project number:** 5K01HL157658-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Maggie A Stanislawski
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $158,779
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-03-01 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10792910

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10792910, The Contribution of Omic Profiles to Weight Loss and Obesity (5K01HL157658-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10792910. Licensed CC0.

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