The lab’s research involves conducting clinical trials implementing dietary interventions and utilizing translational techniques to identify unique biomarkers for cardiometabolic and skeletal muscle health. Presently, the AGE lab has three key projects:

Lean pork Effects And Perimenopause “LEAP”
The purpose of the LEAP study is to examine the impact of a diet high in fresh lean pork, compared to a plant-based diet, on cardiovascular function in perimenopausal women with overweight or obesity, who are experiencing menopause symptoms. The research study utilizes gold standard clinical methods for cardiovascular health including Flow Mediated Dilation and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

Elucidating the Specific Effects of Estrogen on Skeletal Muscle Integrity During Menopause (ESTEEM)
The research study utilizes human skeletal muscle samples from young females, postmenopausal females, and postmenopausal females using menopause hormone treatment to investigate how menopause status influences skeletal muscle histology, genomics, and proteomics. This project is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Marcas Bamman at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition.

Dietary Approaches to Longevity and Health (DiAL Health) Pilot trial
The AGE lab is actively involved in the analysis and translation of findings from the DiAL health pilot program. DiAL Health was a 24-week, randomized controlled pilot trial comparing the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of traditional and adaptive approaches to calorie restriction (CR) and time-restricted eating (TRE) on biomarkers of biological aging and healthspan in young, healthy adults. This is one of the first studies to examine the effects of both CR and TRE against a usual diet and will generate preliminary data to inform a larger, longer-term comparative trial.