Vanderbilt researchers have uncovered a potential new way to help curb the rapidly rising worldwide prevalence of metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes.

Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated that a cluster of microRNAs — small pieces of RNA that regulate gene expression — work in a type of immune cells called macrophages to help protect against metabolic defects in obesity.

New biomarker finding strengthens the case for using GLP-1R agonists to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes who also suffer from asthma.

Vanderbilt epidemiologists found 32 blood metabolites associated with obesity and showed that adding these to traditional disease prediction models improves accuracy of determining Type 2 diabetes risk.

Vanderbilt researchers are elucidating the neuronal pathways that contribute to food consumption in response to stress — “comfort feeding” — and how they differ in males versus females and in the context of obesity.

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered details of pancreatic beta cell loss — and potential therapeutic targets — during conditions of overnutrition, as occurs in obesity.