Diversity Supplement to DP2AT011965

Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY Our modern food environment, with its widespread availability of energy-dense, palatable foods and associated cues, is thought to interact with our physiology to promote food intake. This has contributed to the drastic increase in obesity in the United States over the past several decades. However, most pharmacological weight loss strategies target satiation pathways, not sensory pathways, and therefore may be less effective at eliminating effects of environmental/sensory cues on food intake. Here we propose to take a novel approach to understanding the drive to eat by examining the neural integration of sensory and nutritive food signals. First, we will create sensory “engrams” – functional maps of neurons activated by discrete sensory stimuli – and determine how activating or inhibiting these circuits can influence food preference. Next, we will monitor calcium dynamics in individual neurons to reveal the activity patterns that integrate sensory and nutritive information in the brain across different body weights. These studies will reveal fundamental principles of how food information is integrated in the brain to drive feeding behavior, revealing new targets for the development of obesity therapeutics. We are applying for an additional year of supplemental funding to enable Ms. Alexandra Vargas, a first-generation, low income, Latinx U.S. citizen to continue to perform research on the neural underpinnings of feeding behavior, add new complementary neuroscience techniques to her technical repertoire, and further develop receive writing, presentation, and networking skills. In this second year, Ms. Vargas will also gain valuable mentorship experience, as she will help with training and mentoring Alhadeff lab high school and undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds as they embark on their own research journeys. We believe that this additional year of comprehensive technical, career development, and mentorship training will give Ms. Vargas a competitive edge as she applies for M.D./Ph.D. programs in neuroscience to start in fall 2024. Overall, this funding will facilitate the career of Ms. Vargas, an extremely impressive and talented rising scientist, giving her the opportunity to make major advances in the fields of neuroscience and obesity while increasing diversity in NIH health-related research.