Sanford Health, in partnership with North Dakota State University, recently received a $2.8 million research grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the impact of the gut microbiome on stress-related eating in the natural environment in individuals with obesity.
Scott Engel, Ph.D., of Sanford Health Center for Biobehavioral Research and Kristine Steffen, Pharm.D., Ph.D., of the North Dakota State University Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, co-lead the award. The goal of the four-year NIH R01 grant is to evaluate the impact of stress and the gut microbiome on eating and the risk for obesity development.
“There is a strong body of literature that demonstrates the relationship between stress and eating in individuals with obesity,” said Dr. Scott Engel. “Rather than looking at this relationship exclusively in the laboratory, we are collecting data from our participants during their everyday lives. Further, we plan to examine how rewarding a particular food is and its impact on the stress-eating relationship.”
“Recent data has shown that the bacteria in the gut (the microbiome) influences stress and we can measure a person’s response to stress through cortisol levels in the blood,” Dr. Steffen said. “We will investigate how much a person’s specific intestinal bacterial makeup influences the cortisol response they have to a stressor in the laboratory. Individuals with specific bacterial compositions and high levels of stress may be at risk for less healthy eating patterns that predispose them to obesity.”
Dr. Engel and his lab at Sanford Health and Dr. Steffen and her lab at North Dakota State University have spent years studying eating disorders, obesity, and bariatric surgery. Earlier this year, Sanford received a COBRE grant from the NIH, where NDSU is also a major partner, to support the development of a comprehensive center of scientific research in eating disorders.
For more information about Sanford Research, visit Research.SanfordHealth.org.
About NDSU
North Dakota State University is a student focused, land grant, research institution in Fargo, North Dakota. The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Health Professions at NDSU offers MS and PhD degree programs, emphasizing both research and teaching excellence. The college’s research portfolio includes R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health, with research focused on the role of pharmaceutical sciences in disease prevention, disease treatment, and additional research to promote health. www.ndsu.edu/pharmacy
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About Sanford Health
Sanford Health, one of the largest health systems in the United States, is dedicated to the integrated delivery of health care, genomic medicine, senior care and services, global clinics, research and affordable insurance. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization includes 46 hospitals, 1,500 physicians and more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior care locations in 26 states and 10 countries. Learn more about Sanford Health's transformative work to improve the human condition at sanfordhealth.org or Sanford Health News.