Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) awarded the University of Missouri System a Project Grant totaling $840,770 under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) for the period of July 1, 2026, through March 31, 2031. This award funds basic and translational research investigating the mechanisms underlying impaired skeletal muscle blood flow and glucose uptake in individuals with obesity and comorbid insulin resistance. The research focuses specifically on the interplay between central (brain) and peripheral vascular effects of insulin, with particular emphasis on how sympathetic nerve activity dysregulation contributes to skeletal muscle malperfusion and metabolic dysfunction. The project will employ both preclinical rodent models and human participant studies to elucidate whether aberrant sympathetic nerve activity in obesity is driven by increased brain sensitivity to insulin and to assess whether impaired "insulin-induced sympatholysis" occurs in human obesity as a causal mechanism exacerbating cardiovascular and metabolic disease progression.

Research outcomes from this project will generate mechanistic insights and preliminary data intended to support the development of novel targeted therapeutic strategies to reverse metabolic and cardiovascular disease in the obese, insulin-resistant population—a high-risk group with elevated incidence of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications.