Grant Award Summary

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) awarded a $110,799 Project Grant to the University of Pittsburgh on July 15, 2026, under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837). Led by Clinical Psychologist Andrea Goldschmidt, Ph.D., this NHLBI Midcareer Award in Patient-Oriented Research supports the Ambulatory Study of Stress, Eating, and Reactivity in Teens (PROJECT ASSERT). The project will advance understanding of the complex associations between stress, eating behaviors, weight management, and cardiometabolic health in adolescents with overweight and obesity through ambulatory assessment methodologies and mechanistic investigation of weight-based interpersonal and environmental stressors.

The award supports Dr. Goldschmidt's career development goals through the completion date of April 30, 2031, including deepening knowledge of pathophysiology and assessment of stress as it relates to maladaptive eating and weight gain in youth; translating mechanistic findings into personalized, scalable intervention approaches; and enhancing mentorship capacity to train the next generation of clinical researchers in eating and weight disorders. This funding addresses significant public health gaps, as overweight and obesity affect more than 30% of adolescents and carry elevated risk for cardiovascular disease markers and eating disorders.