• BA Kinesiology
  University of Limerick, 1980
• MSc Exercise Biochemistry
  University of Massachusetts, 1984
• PhD Human Bioenergetics
  Ball State University, 1987
• Postdoctoral Fellow
  Washington University School of Medicine, 1991
• Visiting Scholar
  University of California San Diego, 2004

Dr. John Kirwan is the principal investigator of the IPMM laboratory and executive director of Pennington BIomedical Research Center. As a Clinical Translational scientist, Dr. Kirwan has maintained an independent and productive program pursuing research related to obesity, diabetes, and metabolism for over 25 years. Dr. Kirwan’s research interests include the underlying pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes and identification of lifestyle, surgical, and pharmacological interventions that facilitate weight loss and improve insulin sensitivity.

• Visiting Scholar
  University of Legon, 2010
• BA Public Health
  John Carroll University, 2011
• MS Exercise Physiology
  Cleveland State University, 2016

Christopher Axelrod is the director of the IPMM laboratory. Christopher oversees day-to-day operation of the clinical, pre-clinical, and discovery-based programs. His research applies a bioenergetic lens to understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of complex metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cancer. Current interests include development and testing of mitochondrial targeted pharmacotherapies, redox homeostasis in aging and disease, and therapeutic applications of metabolic surgery.

• BS Biology
  University of New Orleans, 2014
• MS Kinesiology
  Louisiana State University, 2023 (anticipated)

Kathryn Belmont is the manager of the IPMM laboratory. Kathryn oversees daily operation of the research laboratory and serves as an anchor between our basic, pre-clinical, and clinical research programs.

• MS/Physician Biology
  Russian State Medical University, 1994
• PhD Genetics
  Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, 2001
• Visiting Scholar
  Yonsei University, 2004
• Postdoctoral Fellow
  National Institute on Aging, 2008
• Postdoctoral Fellow
  Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 2012

Dr. Bolormaa Vandanmagsar is an assistant professor of research in the IPMM laboratory. Her work is focused on the link between chronic inflammation and obesity, obesity-associated insulin resistance, particularly, the association between muscle inflammation and skeletal muscle insulin resistance, and the role of metabolic states in the development of inflammation in muscle. Dr. Vandanmagsar is also interested in how skeletal muscle signals to other metabolic organs such as liver and pancreas when metabolic stress is present.

• BS Biochemistry
  John Carroll University, 2010
• MS Nutrition
  Case Western Reserve University, 2017
• PhD Nutrition
  Case Western Reserve University, 2021 (Anticipated)

Elizabeth Zunica is a postdoctoral research fellow in the IPMM laboratory. Elizabeth obtained her PhD from Case Western Reserve University in 2022 in Nutritional Biochemistry. Her current work is focused on mechanisms underlying the progression of steatotic liver disease to liver cancer. Elizabeth has a broad interest in cellular metabolism and nutritional biochemistry with a focus on changes in mitochondrial function associated with disease and in response to therapeutic interventions.

• PhD Physiology
  University of Potsdam, 2025

Dr. Patricia Baumgarten is a postdoctoral research fellow in the IPMM laboratory. Patricia obtained her PhD from The University of Potsdam in 2025 in Physiology. Her current work is focused on pathophysiology and mechanisms associated with sarcopenic obesity. Patricia has a broad interest in changes in metabolism associated with aging, with specific focus on how quality control/repair mechanisms influence disease acceleration and outcomes. 

• BS Kinesiology
  University of Louisiana, 2019
• MS Kinesiology
  University of Louisiana, 2021
• PhD Kinesiology
  Louisiana State University, 2026 (Anticipated)

Elizabeth Heintz is a doctoral candidate at Louisiana State University in the Department of Kinesiology. Her current work is focused on the role of mitochondrial solute carriers in the regulation of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Elizabeth has a broader interest in exercise physiology with a focus on mitochondrial adaptations associated with aging and chronic disease.

• BS Biology
  Louisiana State University, 2022
• PhD Genetics and Genome Sciences
  Case Western Reserve University (Anticipated)

Analisa Taylor is a doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve University in the Department of Genetics. Her current work is focused on the role and regulation of mitochondrial Rho GTPases in the context of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Analisa has a broader interest in genetics and the development of genetic models to understand causes and consequences of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.