Obesity Solutions announces winners of seed funding competition

Mayo Clinic-ASU Obesity Solutions has announced the 2016 winners of its seed funding competition. The seed funding program supports obesity-related pilot studies that will develop new collaborative teams or push forward highly innovative ideas with potential to receive significant external funding in the future.

“The array of innovative proposals we received speaks to the breadth and depth of obesity research happening across ASU,” said Alexandra Brewis Slade, Obesity Solutions co-director. “We had a very strong pool to choose from, and are excited to see where these pilot projects go.”

Applicants were asked to propose projects related to obesity risk and suffering, health and health disparities in vulnerable populations, the patient experience, and technology and behavior change.

The winners, listed below, include ASU faculty and graduate students. Postdoctoral fellows were also eligible for funding.

Next-generation sequencing approach to the interaction of DNA methylation and alternative splicing in lean and obese participants
Samantha Day, PhD candidate, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Association of infant feeding, maternal and infant microbiota, and obesity
Elizabeth Reifsnider, associate dean for research, College of Nursing and Health Innovation

Nuanced perceptions of fat: Implications for stigma, valuation, and long-term health
Steven Neuberg, professor, Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Removing barriers to women’s physical activity in Latino barrios through rapid community assessment of neighborhood environments: A pilot study
Francisco Lara-Valencia, associate professor, School of Transborder Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Combining mobile and isotopic analyses for determining metabolic change during exercise
Gwyneth Gordon, research scientist, School of Earth and Space Exploration, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

The lived experience of male bariatric patients
Cindi SturtzSreetharan, associate professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Aesthetics: An innovative approach to obesity prevention
Cori Lorts, PhD candidate, School of Nutrition and Health Promotion, College of Health Solutions

Establishing new definitions of sarcopenia using muscle quality index
Chong Lee, Associate Professor, School of Nutrition and Health Promotion, College of Health Solutions

Insulin sensitivity and high/low muscle contractions in sedentary obese adults
Catherine Jarrett, PhD candidate, School of Nutrition and Health Promotion, College of Health Solutions

New regional transit service and marginalization of vulnerable segments of the population
Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, associate professor, School of Nutrition and Health Promotion, College of Health Solutions