PI: Jaume Padilla, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology

Granting agency: American Heart Association Established Investigator Award

Project title: Development of Novel Tools to Study Mechanisms of Endothelial Insulin Resistance and Dysfunction in Obesity and Diabetes

Grant amount: $400,000

Co-Investigator: Alejandro Chade, Professor of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, MU School of Medicine

Individuals with obesity and diabetes have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and one key reason for this increased risk is poor blood vessel function relating to insulin resistance. This project aims to find ways to improve vessel function in obesity and diabetes with the goal of improving cardiovascular health in this patient population. The project will use mouse and pig models of obesity and diabetes to study mechanisms of insulin resistance in blood vessels.