Human Phenotyping Core

Dr. Corby Martin

Dr. Corby Martin

Dr. Ursula White

Dr. Ursula White

Dr. Amanda Staiano

Dr. Amanda Staiano
Pediatric Exercise and Exergaming

Dr. Owen Carmichael

Dr. Owen Carmichael
Imaging

Dr. Jeff Keller

Dr. Jeff Keller
Phenotyping of Older Populations

Kori Murray

Kori Murray
Imaging

Abbe Duhe

Abby Duhe
Maternal and Infant Phenotyping

Karissa Elsass

Karissa Elsass
Remote Food Photography Method and SmartIntake


Comprehensive human phenotyping is critical for understanding risk factors of obesity, to understand mechanisms in health and disease, and to develop programs for obesity prevention and treatment at various stages of life. To accomplish these aims, the Human Phenotyping Core provides state-of-the-art phenotyping services throughout the lifespan, from pregnancy and infancy through childhood, adulthood, and older age. The services of the Human Phenotyping Core directly support the overall focus of the Pennington/Louisiana NORC and provide members with services that: 1) support the full spectrum of obesity research, 2) provide specialized services for unique populations, and 3) allow for clinical and translational studies. Through the provision of these services and expertise, the Human Phenotyping Core has made a significant impact on the research of NORC members and has provided critical resources to move the fields of nutrition and obesity research forward.

The Human Phenotyping Core is divided into two sub-cores, Energy Balance and Behavioral, and these sub-cores provide expertise and a comprehensive suite of services that supports nutrition and obesity research and fosters translational projects. True to the theme of the Pennington/Louisiana NORC, the Human Phenotyping Core enhances research throughout the lifespan by providing state-of-the-art services to support nutrition, obesity, and metabolic research broadly. The Core also continues to develop innovative research techniques to conduct clinical and translational research.

The services provided by the Human Phenotyping Core are summarized in the list below. The Core has established procedures and methods to phenotype mothers, infants, and children as part of the Maternal and Infant Phenotyping Laboratory (MIL), while retaining and enhancing its ability to phenotype individuals through the remainder of the lifespan, including adolescents, adults, and the elderly. The Core has existing procedures to measure energy expenditure, body composition, food intake, and to deliver lifestyle modification programs in the clinic or remotely. The Core also has established imaging capabilities, including enhanced body composition and metabolism imaging, as well as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The Core recently created the Pennington/Louisiana NORC Biorepository, which is a human data and tissue biorepository that currently contains data from 186 clinical studies and 13,199 participants. The Core has provided training on how to access and utilize the biorepository and users can search the repository and request access to data and samples via the Pennington/Louisiana NORC Repository. The biorepository has and will continue to serve as an important resource to test novel hypotheses and to provide preliminary data for grant applications, particularly for junior investigators. To better support junior investigators and investigators who are new to the field, the core is delivering training to investigators on nutrition and obesity research and human phenotyping via Nutrition and Obesity Research Methods courses. Finally, the core is focused on supporting translational research, including “bench to bedside and back again” projects, as well as research to evaluate the translation and implementation of empirically supported treatments in clinics in the community.

In summary, the Human Phenotyping Core provides users with an extensive array of expertise and cutting-edge phenotyping capabilities, which allows users to phenotype individuals throughout the lifespan. The Core also provides NORC members and users with expert consultation and specialist expertise when planning and implementing research projects. The Core remains dedicated to supporting NORC members, particularly junior investigators.


Sub-Core I Energy Balance

Ursula White, Associate Director

Services Offered:

  • Body anthropometrics, circumference and skinfold thickness (infants, children, and adults)
  • Body composition (DXA, CT, BodPod, MRS, MRI) in infants, adults, pregnant women
  • Assessment of brown adipose tissue by MRI DIXON methods (infants, children, adults)
  • Assessment of liver fat (MRI and MRS) and liver stiffness
  • MR Spectroscopy (proton, phosphorus, carbon)
  • Carbohydrate metabolism (OGTT, clamps, FSIGTT, metabolic flexibility, tracers, CGMs)
  • Energy expenditure (ventilated hood, metabolic chamber, doubly labeled water)
  • Adipose tissue cell kinetics (subcutaneous fat cell size, deuterium dilution)
  • Exercise testing (VO2max, strength)
  • Brain activity (fMRI) in response to visual and taste stimuli

Procedures in Development:

  • Infant energy expenditure (doubly labeled water, indirect calorimetry), physical activity (accelerometry)
  • Analagous body composition and metabolic MRI techniques across rodents and humans
  • Human biospecimens repository

Sub-Core II Behavioral

Corby Martin, Director

Services Offered:

  • Assessment of infant, child, and adult food intake by food photography (e.g., SmartIntake)
  • Intervention development and delivery (clinic, community, home, and mobile health)
  • Exercise interventions and exergaming
  • Observation rooms for behavior analysis of food intake and activity
  • Behavioral, cognitive, and psychological assessments
  • Lab-based food intake and food preference tests
  • Webcam methods for remote food tracking of diet, exercise, and medication adherence
  • Assessment of children's preferences for active and sedentary behaviors (Activity Preference Assessment)

Procedures in Development:

  • Automated food intake estimates via smartphone app (PortionSize)
  • Just-in-time adaptive interventions that rely on remote sensors to detect eating events