2007 New Investigator Research Grants

Qingchun Tong, PhD

“Role of Fast-Acting Neurotransmitter GABA Released from AgRP/NPY Neurons in Controlling Energy Homeostasis”

Tanja V.E. Kral, PhD

“Effects of Doubling the Portion Size of Low Energy-Dense Side Dishes Within a Meal on Energy Intake in Children”

V. Saroja Voruganti, PhD

“Effect of High-Fructose Meal on Gene Expression of Appetite-Related Peptides on Baboons”

Antony Karelis, PhD

“The Metabolically Healthy, but Obese (MHO)
Individual: The Role of Free Fatty Acid Trapping as a “Protective
Mechanism” in this Unique Subset”

Steven J. Prior, PhD

“Aerobic Exercise Training to Improve Angiogenesis and Glucose Tolerance in Obesity”

April D. Strader, PhD

“Maternal Consumption of Diets Sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and Offspring Susceptibility to Diet-Induced Obesity”

2007 Wrigley Science Institute Research Grants

Kathleen J. Melanson, PhD

“Impact of Chewing Gum on Appetite, Meal Intake, and Mood under Controlled Conditions”

Leah D. Whigham, PhD

“Effects of Gum Chewing on Energy Expenditure”

2008 New Investigator Research Grants

Jennifer Baker, PhD

“Childhood Obesity and the Risk of Cancer in Adulthood”

Jose Galgani, PhD

“Metabolic Flexibility to Lipid During Moderate Intensity Exercise in Humans”

Martin Fisher, PhD

“Mechanisms of Action of FGF21 in Obesity”

Madlyn Frisard, PhD

“Inflammation, Oxygen Intermediates, and Mitochondrial Biology in Skeletal Muscle”

Madlyn Frisard, PhD

“Inflammation, Oxygen Intermediates, and Mitochondrial Biology in Skeletal Muscle”

Matthew Hayes, PhD

“AMP Kinase as an Intracellular Mediator of Energy Balance”

Gina Leinninger, PhD

“Molecular Mechanisms of Leptin Action via Neurotensin-Containing “Neurons of the Lateral Hypothalamus”

Yaguang Si, PhD

“The Role of Mitofusin-2 in Mitochondrial Dynamics and Adipocyte Metabolism”

Jennifer Teske, PhD

“Obesity and Sleep: Brain Mechanisms”

2008 Wrigley Science Institute Research Grants

Jennifer Nasser, PhD

“Use of Chewing Gum to Prevent Weight Gain in Humans Taking Atypical Antipsychotic Medication”

Daniel Preud’Homme, MD

“Chewing Sugar-Free Gum Decreases Hunger Complaints in Between Meals in Obese Children”

2009 New Investigator Research Grants

Elinor Sullivan, PhD

“The Consequences of Maternal Obesity and High Fat Diet Consumption on Offspring Energy Balance Regulation: An Emphasis on the Serotonin System”

John Graham Thomas, PhD

“Improving Behavioral Weight Loss via Electronic Handheld Device”

2009 Covidien Research Grants

Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD

“Impact of Breakfast, as Part of Weight Loss Intervention, on Body Mass Index in Obese, Elementary School Children”

Rachel L. Goldman, MA

“Identifying Cortical, Subcortical and Functional Neural Networks Associated with Weight Gain Following Gastric-Bypass Surgery”

2010 Early-Career Research Grants

Kent C. Hansen, PhD

“The Effects of Estrogen on Adipogenesis”

Scott E. Kanoski, PhD

“Ventral Hippocampal Leptin Signaling: The Higher-Order Controls of Food Intake Suppression”

Jennifer J. Otten, PhD

“Assessing the Impacts of the 2010 Santa Clara County, CA Ordinance Banning Toys and Other Incentives That Accompany Less Healthful Children’s Menu Items”

2010 GlaxoSmithKline Research Grants

Kelly C. Allison, PhD

“Preventing Excess Weight Gain during Pregnancy Using Integrated Technologies”

Anjel Vahratian, PhD

“Maternal Visceral Fat and Metabolic Dysregulation during Pregnancy”

2010 Nutrisystem Inc. Research Grant

Kelly H. Webber, PhD

“The Effect of a Behavioral Weight Loss Program with Nutrisystem Meal Provision on Change in Weight, Fasting Blood Glucose, Cholesterol, and Blood Pressure over 12 weeks”

2011 Early-Career Research Grants

Kathryn E. Demos, PhD

The Effects of Cognitive Regulation Strategies on Neural Food Cue-Reactivity”

Daniel L. Smith, Jr., PhD

“Reduced Ambient Temperature as a Confounding Agent in Obesity Drug Discovery”

2011 Nutrisystem Inc. Research Grant

Heather K. Vincent, PhD

Hypocaloric Diet Prior to Total Knee Replacement in the Obese Patient”

2012 Early-Career Research Grants

Stephanie A. Rose, PhD

“Improvement in Provider and Patient Self-Efficacy in Weight Loss in Primary Care”

Joseph (Yossi) Tam, PhD

Regulation of Leptin Resistance by Endocannabinoids”

2012 Nutrisystem Inc. Research Grant

Melissa Kalarchian, PhD

“Use of Nutrisystem to Facilitate Dietary Adherence and Maximize Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery”

2013 Early-Career Research Grants

Kristen Boyle, PhD

“The Effect of Maternal Obesity in Skeletal Muscle Cell Differentiation”

Kari Johansson, PhD

“Perinatal and Pregnancy Outcomes after Bariatric Surgery: A Nationwide Cohort Study”

2013 EGG Nutrition Center Research Grant

Nick Bellissimo, PhD

“Role of Dietary Protein in a Familiar Breakfast Meal on Subjective Satiety, Food Intake and Thermic Effect of Food in Normal Weight and Overweight/Obese Children”

2014 Early-Career Research Grants

Courtney Peterson, PhD

“Does Meal Timing Impact Energy Expenditure”

Christina Roberto, PhD

“Evaluating a Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Portion Cap Policy”

2014 EGG Nutrition Center Research Grant

Dexi Liu, PhD

“Reversing Obesity-Related Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by Protein-Enriched Diet”

2014 Weight Watchers Karen Miller-Kovach Research Grant

Evan Forman, PhD

“A Companion Smartphone App to Enhance Dietary Adherence through Predictive Machine Learning”

2015 Early-Career Research Grants

Fernando Bril, MD

“Role of Hepatic Mitochondrial Dysfunction in the Development of NAFLD in Obesity”

Leah Frerichs, PhD

“A Randomized Trial of an Integrated Clinical-Community Partnership Model for Childhood Obesity Treatment”

Latha Ramalingam, PhD

“Maternal Supplementation of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Alleviates Obesity-Associated Inflammation in the Offspring”

2015 Weight Watchers Karen Miller-Kovach Research Grant

Kathleen J. Melanson, PhD

“A Scalable Intervention Tracking Three Weight-Related Behaviors”

2015 Novo Nordisk Grants

Colleen Novak, PhD

“Steroidogenic Factor 1 (SF1) and Non-Exercise Activity Thermogensis”

Jeffrey Zigman, MD, PhD

“Physiological Significance and Pharmacological Potential of Ligand-Independent (Constitutive) Ghrelin Receptor Activity”

Adrian Vella, MD

“GLP – 1 Receptor Agonism in Subjects Failing Sleeve Gastrectomy”

2016 Pfizer Fellowship

Richard O’Connor, PhD

“Lateral Habenular-Projecting Hypothalamic Neurons Regulate Food Preference”

2016 Weight Watchers Karen Miller-Kovach Research Grant

Allan Geliebter, PhD

“Use of a Food Photo App for Tracking Dietary Intake in a Weight Loss Program”

2016 Early-Career Research Grants

John Garretson, PhD

“Roles for White Adipose Tissue (WAT) Sensory Nerve Function in the Control”

2016 Early-Career Grant Challenge

Ki Suk Kim, PhD

“Role of Pancreatic GLP-1 in Weight Loss and Glucose Homeostasis after VSG”

2017 Weight Watchers Karen Miller-Kovach Research Grant

Brooke Nezami, PhD

“Mobile Methods for Reducing Obesity Risk in Parents and Preschool Children”

2017 Early-Career Research Grant

Lauren Stein, PhD

“Hindbrain Astrocytes Mediate the Energy Balance Effects of Leptin”

2017 Early-Career Grant Challenge

Emily Noble, PhD

“Effects of Early Life Sugar Consumption on Memory Function During Adulthood”

2018 Weight Watchers Karen Miller-Kovach Research Grant

Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, PhD

“Mobile Attention Retraining in Adolescents with Loss of Control Eating”

2018 Early-Career Research Grant

Amber Alhadeff, PhD

“The Neural Basis for Negative Affect During Hunger”

2018 Early-Career Grant Challenge

Nicholas Broskey, PhD

“Measurement of in Vivo Mitochondrial Capacity in Infants: A 31P-MRS Pilot Study”

2019 Early-Career Research Grant

Nathan Winn, PhD
Vanderbilt University

“Macrophage Iron Handling and Insulin Action”

2019 Weight Watchers Karen Miller-Kovach Research Grant

Rachel Kolko Conlon, PhD
University of Pittsburgh

“ClockWork: Harnessing the Circadian Timing System for Postpartum Weight Management & Health”

2020 Early-Career Research Grant

KayLoni Olson, PhD
Brown University

“Improving the Experience of Exercise Among Individuals with Internalized Weight Bias Using Acceptance-based Strategies”

2021 Early-Career Research Grant

Cody Neshteruk, PhD
Duke University

“Identifying predictors of obesity treatment response in children using the electronic health record”

2022 Early-Career Research Grant

Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen, PhD
UTSouthwestern University

“Developing nutritious no prep ready to eat meals for food pantry clients”

2023 Early-Career Research Grant

Anna Hayes, PhD
University of Southern California

“Connections between early life obesogenic diet, the gut microbiome, and neurocognition”