Pennington Biomedical Earns Fifth NIH Renewal for Nationally Recognized Nutrition Obesity Research Center, One of Only 11 in the Nation

July 20, 2026 · Baton Rouge, LA

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$5.66M award strengthens Louisiana nutrition and obesity research through statewide collaboration, shared scientific resources and investigator development

LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center has received a five-year, $5.66 million renewal of its Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The award, totaling $5,659,389, extends support for the Pennington-Louisiana Nutrition Obesity Research Center through 2031 and reaffirms Pennington Biomedical's position as a national leader in nutrition, obesity and metabolic health research.

The Pennington-Louisiana NORC is one of only 11 NIH-funded Nutrition Obesity Research Centers in the United States, joining an elite network that includes centers at Harvard University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Washington University in St. Louis and other leading research institutions. These centers serve as hubs for scientific collaboration, providing researchers with the shared infrastructure, technologies and expertise needed to accelerate discoveries that improve human health.

Unlike traditional NIH research grants that fund individual projects, the NORC is a center grant that supports the scientific infrastructure behind dozens of research programs. It provides investigators with access to specialized research cores, pilot funding for innovative ideas, advanced technologies, mentorship opportunities and statewide collaborations that help scientists compete for larger federal grants and translate discoveries from the laboratory to patients and communities.

Since its establishment in 2005, the Pennington-Louisiana NORC has evolved from 26 members with $11.4 million in annual direct research funding to a statewide collaborative network of 217 scientists and trainees representing institutions across Louisiana. Today, NORC investigators support $67.8 million in annual direct research funding focused on nutrition and obesity research and have produced 512 peer-reviewed publications during the current five-year funding cycle.

Led by LSU Boyd Professor Dr. Eric Ravussin, the NORC is organized around the theme “Nutrition, Obesity and Metabolic Health Through the Lifespan.”

Pennington Biomedical's NORC operates in five-year grant cycles. The first successful application was funded in 2005 and was led by Dr. Ravussin and Pennington Biomedical Professor Emeritus Dr. Donna Ryan. The most recent renewal effort was led by Dr. Ravussin and Dr. Leanne Redman, who was named director of the Pennington-Louisiana NORC before being recruited to serve as Academic Director of the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney.

"This renewal recognizes the strength of the collaborative research community we have built over the past two decades," Dr. Ravussin said. "For more than 20 years, the NORC has helped build one of the nation's premier environments for nutrition and obesity research. By bringing together investigators with complementary expertise and providing them with world-class scientific resources, we've created an environment where innovative ideas can grow into discoveries that improve health."

The NORC supports innovative research addressing the root causes of nutritionally induced chronic diseases across the entire age span, from pregnancy and infancy through childhood, adulthood and healthy aging.

To support this work, the NORC provides investigators across Louisiana with a structured system of shared scientific resources centered on nutrition and metabolic health throughout the lifespan. Researchers have access to three state-of-the-art scientific cores that provide advanced technologies and expertise: the Human Phenotyping Core, Bioinformatics & Molecular Mechanisms Core, and Animal Models & Phenotyping Core.

“The Nutrition Obesity Research Center is much more than a grant – it is the scientific engine that strengthens nutrition and obesity research across Louisiana,” said Dr. Jennifer Rood, Interim Senior Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of Pennington Biomedical. “By investing in shared infrastructure, mentoring and collaboration, this award amplifies the impact of every investigator it supports. It also ensures we continue training the next generation of scientists who will lead breakthroughs in metabolic health for years to come.”

A hallmark of the center is its nationally recognized Pilot and Feasibility Program, which provides seed funding to early-career investigators pursuing innovative research. During the current funding cycle, the program awarded $758,000 to 18 early-stage investigators, enabling them to generate the preliminary data needed to compete successfully for larger NIH grants. Three new pilot projects are scheduled to begin this year.

The NORC also supports scientific seminars, mentoring opportunities and workforce development through its Enrichment Program, working in partnership with Pennington Biomedical's NIH-funded training grants to prepare future leaders in nutrition and obesity research.

“The NORC creates opportunities for scientists across Louisiana to work together in ways that would not be possible otherwise,” said Dr. Chris Morrison, Associate Director of the Pennington-Louisiana Nutrition Obesity Research Center. “By connecting researchers across disciplines and providing access to shared resources and expertise, we can move discoveries more efficiently from basic science to clinical research and ultimately to the communities that need them most.”

For more information about the Pennington-Louisiana Nutrition Obesity Research Center, visit www.pbrc.edu/NORC.