February 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 Chapel Hill School of Medicine

Alterations in Glymphatic Function During Acute Hyperglycemia

Jessica Ellis, PhD

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Novels Tools to Investigate Fatty Acid Beta-Oxidation Intermediate Accumulation

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

Katherine Sauder, PhD

Wake Forest University School of Medicine

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