The comprehensive research program at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center focuses on six key research priorities: Functional Foods, Health and Performance Enhancement, Nutrition and Chronic Diseases, Experimental Obesity, Clinical Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome, Nutrition and the Brain, and Education.

Researchers in these divisions rely on the latest molecular, physiological, clinical, behavioral, and bioinformatics technologies. The ultimate goal is to prevent common diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, so that people can live healthier and fuller lives.

Our research takes place in 50 laboratories and 19 core services laboratories, including genomics, proteomics, clinical chemistry, mass spectrometry, cell culture, comparative biology, transgenics, body composition, and food analysis behavior.

In addition, our outpatient clinic provides room for examinations and interviews, a metabolic kitchen, a metabolic procedure room, two whole-room indirect calorimeters, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, ultrasound imaging, air displacement plethysmography, and an underwater weighing unit.

Our clinical research has yielded new knowledge and impacted many lives during our first 12 years. Those finding include:

• Adoption of a lifestyle program can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
• A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy products can lower blood pressure equivalent to medications for hypertension.
• Studies for NASA yielded promising results for prevention of kidney stones and bone loss during prolonged space travel.
• Being physically fit is advantageous in the body's ability to adapt to dietary fat increases.

To learn more about our on-going research, check out our news page or download our scientific report. To learn more about how you can participate in the exciting research studies being conducted at our Center, visit our clinical trials page.