2026 Pilot Awardees

Hannah Ainsworth, PhD

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Prioritizing Diabetes Risk Loci with Intrinsic DNA Topology: From Association to Functional Mechanisms

Jessica Cannavino, PhD

Duke University School of Medicine

Determinants of the Therapeutic Efficacy of Weight Loss Interventions and the Metabolic Memory of Obesity

Wei-Tang Chang, PhD

UNC School of Medicine

Alterations in Glymphatic Function During Acute Hyperglycemia

Alexis Ganesh, PhD

NC A&T State University

Muscle, Mobility, and Brain Health in Older Adults with Diabetes

Kennita Johnson, PhD

UNC Chapel Hill

AI-Powered Quantitative Ultrasound Detection of Fatty Pancreas Disease for Diabetes Prognosis: A Pilot Animal Study

Jessica Ellis, PhD

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Novels Tools to Investigate Fatty Acid Beta-Oxidation Intermediate Accumulation

Katherine Sauder, PhD

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Pilot and Feasibility Study of CGM to Replace the OGTT in Postpartum GDM Screening