Brown Named to Business Report’s 2019 Forty Under 40
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Released: Tuesday, November 19, 2019Baton Rouge, Louisiana — Justin C. Brown, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Director of the Cancer Metabolism Program at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center, has been named to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report’s Forty Under 40 class of 2019.
The award honors the Capital Region’s brightest young leaders, innovators and business professionals.
“The decision to come to Pennington Biomedical was easy,” Dr. Brown said. “The culture of scientific collaboration is what makes our center so unique. This award is the product of being surrounded by outstanding colleagues who inspire me every day.”
Brown earned his doctorate in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and completed a fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute & Harvard Medical School in 2018. Although a dozen other research centers and medical schools heavily recruited him, Brown selected Pennington Biomedical, one of the world’s top obesity research centers, and its newly established Cancer Metabolism Program. The program was created in early 2019 through Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation board member Art Favre’s $1.2 million donation.
“One of the areas where Pennington Biomedical can make the biggest impact on the health of Louisiana and U.S. residents lies in obesity-related cancer research, finding solutions and treatments and potentially cures for 14 deadly cancers that have been linked to obesity and weight gain,” said John Kirwan, PhD, and Executive Director. “As Director of our Cancer Metabolism program, Dr. Brown will help lead those efforts.”
“On behalf of Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation we are proud of our science star, Dr. Justin Brown, whose important work will make a real impact on the health outcomes of those with cancer in the Baton Rouge community and beyond,” said Jill Roshto, President and CEO of Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation.
Brown’s research focuses on discovering the mechanisms through which weight management, diabetes control, optimal nutrition, and physical activity prevent the development and progression of cancer.
In 2019, Brown was the lead author of three studies published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, JAMA Oncology, and JNCI Cancer Spectrum. He also won the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Challenge award, which was presented Nov. 5, 2019, during ObesityWeek, an international conference that focuses on basic science, clinical application, surgical intervention and the prevention of obesity.
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About LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center
LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. The center conducts basic, clinical and population research, and is affiliated with Louisiana State University. The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes over 450 employees within a network of 40 clinics and research laboratories, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Its scientists and physician/scientists are supported by research trainees, lab technicians, nurses, dietitians and other support personnel. Pennington Biomedical is located in state-of-the-art research facilities on a 222-acre campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
