Thursday, July 31, 2025 7/31/2025

INVESTIGATING THE GUT-BRAIN SIGNALING DYNAMICS REGULATING FOOD INTAKE

Award Number: R00DK119574
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/01/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2023

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

INVESTIGATING THE GUT-BRAIN SIGNALING DYNAMICS REGULATING FOOD INTAKE - PROJECT SUMMARY The recent increase in obesity is a major public health concern. Since energy balance regulation is coordinated by communication between the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the brain, understanding these gut-brain interactions will enable the development of novel obesity treatments. The hypothalamus and the hindbrain are critical brain regions that integrate information from the gut to control food intake. Here, I will leverage recent technological advances to explore the regulation of both these brain regions in awake, behaving animals. Within the hypothalamus, agouti-related protein (AgRP)-expressing neurons are essential for food intake control. Activity in AgRP neurons is high during hunger and is rapidly inhibited by food. My recent work demonstrates that AgRP neurons are primarily regulated by calorie intake, rather than sensory detection of food, since direct gastric infusion of macronutrients into the stomach rapidly suppresses AgRP neuron activity in vivo. Further, this effect is recapitulated by administration of GI satiation signals normally released following food consumption. However, the mechanisms through which the gut transmits signals to AgRP neurons remain unknown. The mentored phase (Aims I and II) of this grant will build upon my previous work by elucidating the mechanisms through which nutrient detection in the gut leads to AgRP neuron activity reductions. Specifically, these aims will determine whether GI signals are transmitted vagally or through direct action on the brain, and will uncover the AgRP axon projections that transmit nutritive signals throughout the brain. Importantly, the mentored experiments will afford me training in peripheral manipulation of the GI tract, as well as in vivo calcium imaging of individual neurons using microendoscopy and 2-photon microscopy, expanding my technical expertise and enabling the proposed R00 experiments. The hindbrain nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) is the first central site of integration of GI-derived signals from vagal afferents, and is a key signaling node that transmits signals from the gut to higher-order brain structures such as the hypothalamus. For the independent phase (Aims III and IV) of my grant, I have designed experiments that build upon both my graduate and postdoctoral training to determine how different hindbrain NTS neuron populations receive signals from the GI tract, at unprecedented levels of temporal and cellular detail. These complementary research aims combined with the proposed career development activities will provide me with the training necessary to successfully transition to independence, under the guidance of my mentorship team who have extensive collective experience with neuroscience techniques and mentorship. Overall, this award will facilitate my career as an independent investigator characterizing the role of gut-brain signaling on the in vivo activity dynamics of feeding-relevant neurons.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = -$28,595 )
2024	2022	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	5	5/7/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$25,181
2024	2022	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	001	5	5/7/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	-$3,414
														Subtotal = -$28,595

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $282,761 )
2022	2022	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	002	5	3/24/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$24,900
2022	2022	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	5	2/15/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$224,100
2022	2022	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	001	5	2/16/2022	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$33,761
														Subtotal = $282,761

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $336,510 )
2021	2021	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	001	4	3/2/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$24,900
2021	2021	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	4	12/23/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$224,100
2021	2021	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	002	4	9/10/2021	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$87,510
														Subtotal = $336,510

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $313,672 )
2020	2020	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	001	3	4/1/2020	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$64,672
2020	2020	MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CENTER	3500 MARKET ST	PHILADELPHIA	PA	19104	PHILADELPHIA	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	3	1/30/2020	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$249,000
														Subtotal = $313,672

Grand Total All Awards = $904,348

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

INVESTIGATING THE GUT-BRAIN SIGNALING DYNAMICS REGULATING FOOD INTAKE

Award Number: R00DK119574

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/01/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2023

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer