Obesity

Alyssa Hasty, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, specializes in immunometabolism, specifically on the role that the immune system plays in obesity and metabolic disease. Recent work from her lab explored the changes in immune cell populations in fat during obesity, weight loss, and weight cycling. Read More

Vanderbilt research that promotes the anti-inflammatory pathway in macrophages could also reduce some of the bad side effects of obesity. Read More

A new partnership between Vanderbilt University’s Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery and clinical stage biopharmaceutical company Soleno Therapeutics will further research into new clinical treatments for multiple obesity syndromes. Read More

Diabetes drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as exenatide (Byetta), are a promising and safe treatment for a rare form of obesity. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have identified and characterized inhibitors of an enzyme that synthesizes lipid signaling molecules with roles in energy balance, inflammation and addiction. Read More

Obesity and two post-operative complications linked with it have associated genetic variants in common, suggesting that obesity may be the culprit. Read More

Engineered bacteria that produce beneficial compounds — and that could potentially be administered in foods like yogurt — may be a future treatment for obesity and other chronic diseases. Read More

The Meharry-Vanderbilt Community Engaged Research Core will sponsor “Partnering to Help People with Obesity Better Understand Their Surgical Options” on Friday, March 1. The event is scheduled from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Metro Public Health Department, Centennial Room B, located at 2500 Charlotte Ave., Nashville. Read More

The Vanderbilt Diabetes Center, the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC), and the Vanderbilt Center for Diabetes Translation Research (CDTR) announce the availability of pilot and feasibility grants in the following areas. Read More

New research by Masoud Ghamari-Langroudi and colleagues has revealed that a certain brain protein called MC3R plays a role in causing the body to reset its "ideal" weight. Read More

New research by Shari Barkin shows that improving nutrition and increasing opportunities to be more active were insufficient in achieving sustained reduction in childhood obesity in poor neighborhoods. Read More

Vanderbilt scientists have discovered that a certain enzyme plays a crucial role in preventing obesity-related cardiac dysfunction. Read More

A Vanderbilt team and their international colleagues characterized for the first time a complex, little-understood cellular receptor type that, when activated, shuts off hunger. Read More

Non-exercise physical activity has a measurable energy expenditure, which goes down when animals engage in voluntary exercise, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers are comparing two types of weight-loss options to determine which is the most effective in helping obese patients reach a more ideal weight before undergoing kidney transplant surgery. Read More

Rising obesity rates in several Southern states are leading to a rapid increase in new cases of diabetes among both black and white adults. A new study helmed by investigators at the University of Texas Health Science Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) found the risk of diabetes is double for black patients. Read More

The optimal “dose” for behavioral interventions to treat childhood obesity are not clear, Vanderbilt researchers concluded after analyzing 133 clinical trial that occurred over the course of 17 years. Read More

An enzyme in the gut – NAPE-PLD – is required for the action of signaling molecules that reduce food intake and weight gain. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is one of four centers receiving a $15 million, four-year research award from the American Heart Association (AHA) to provide cutting-edge research on obesity as part of its sixth Strategically Focused Research Network (SFRN). Read More

“Epigenetic signatures” in DNA may present an opportunity for prevention of or early intervention in childhood obesity. Read More