U of L gets $16.4 million from National Institutes of Health to study impacts of the environment on diabetes and obesity

The University of Louisville has been awarded $16.4 million to study how the environment impacts diabetes and obesity, U of L announced.

“Officials said research will be conducted on how air pollution could be connected to diabetes, and whether the dietary supplement carnosine can protect people from air pollution,” reports Lisa Gillespie of WFPL.

Aruni Bhatnagar, director of the U of L Diabetes and Obesity Center, told Gillespie that the funding will also be used to explore diabetes and obesity as it relates to cardiovascular issues.

“Diabetes and obesity are the leading cause of public health problems within the country as well as within the state,” Bhatnagar told Gillespie. “Heart disease is one of the main consequences of diabetes and obesity. In fact, people who have diabetes, about 70 percent of them die from heart disease.”

The National Institutes of Health grant will also fund research around the effects of pollution on stem cell health; how exercise can reduce inflammation; and how the heart talks to blood vessels to increase blood flow during exercise, the university says.