Maine Med’s research institute awarded $1.3 million NIH grant to study obesity

Maine Medical Center has received a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a genetic study of obesity.

The goal is to learn more about a specific gene, known as mesoderm specific transcript, or MEST, in hopes of developing new strategies to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Robert Koza has been studying the gene at MMC’s Research Institute, specifically its epigenetic process, which can determine whether genes are expressed. Koza has previously found in his research that animals are less likely to become obese on a high-fat diet when the gene is not expressed or is expressed at low levels. Read more

Related Posts

Maine’s life sciences sector growth could outpace other industries

Maine’s $2.3 billion life sciences sector, which employed close to 10,000 people in 2024, will outpace the growth of many other...

13 January 2025

IDEXX gets wiggle room to buy back more shares

IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: IDXX), a Westbrook-based maker of veterinary diagnostics and software, has the green light from its board of...

10 December 2024

Maine’s first accredited lab for PFAS testing is expanding to meet demand

NORRIDGEWOCK, Maine — This week, the Biden administration moved to prevent dangerous “forever chemicals” from being released onto the market after a less...

6 December 2024