Center for Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, & Nutrition Innovation (GENI)

The effects of obesity on child health are widespread since metabolic impairments associated with obesity also contribute to outcomes and response to therapies for a variety of childhood disorders. A major concern is that overweight beginning in childhood can promote later development of serious liver disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and early-onset cancers in a large portion of society. Unchecked, the epidemic of childhood obesity could overwhelm an already overburdened health care system and exacerbate existing health inequities. In addition to childhood obesity, GENI also serves as a home for nutritional, endocrine, GI/liver, and metabolic research. Actionable goals for GENI include: identification of children at greatest metabolic risk; development of new diagnostic and treatment approaches; and the education of patients, colleagues, and caregivers. Taken together, we anticipate practical and effective ways to change the life trajectories of these children towards a healthy and fulfilling future.

Our current research goals include:

• Stratify future risk in diverse longitudinal clinical cohorts of well and diseased children with a focus on metabolic wellness
• Multi-omics and clinical phenotyping as a basis of risk stratification by discovering genetic, social, diet, microbial, or host-derived serum biomarkers of future disease
• Incorporation of guidance from an adult specialist for early identification of preventable adult diseases
• Develop guidance for transition of adolescent patients with metabolic, endocrine, or congenital liver and GI disorders to adult healthcare
• Pre-clinical disease modeling and therapeutic testing
• Therapeutic target discovery and molecular interventions

Our prioritized research areas: