LSU and FMOL Health Award $1.6M to Seven Research Teams Targeting Louisiana's Critical Health Challenges

LSU (搜索)搜索该公司 and FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake (搜索)搜索该词条 have awarded more than $1.6 million in competitive research grants to seven teams from across Louisiana as part of their Collaboration in Action Program (CAP). Each winning team is working to solve critical health challenges in Louisiana, including for patients suffering from cancer, trauma, and heart and lung disease, while also advancing sports medicine and medical data science.

"Research that lifts lives is the clearest measure of a great university, and these seven teams embody exactly the kind of bold, collaborative work that is propelling LSU (搜索)搜索该公司 forward," said LSU Chancellor Jim Dalton. "Our partnership with Our Lady of the Lake shows what's possible when world-class researchers focus their talents on the health challenges facing Louisiana."

E.J. Kuiper, President and CEO of FMOL Health, added: "The Collaboration in Action Program is a great example of the innovative and transformative work FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake (搜索)搜索该词条 and LSU (搜索)搜索该公司 are accomplishing together through our Championship Health Partnership. By bringing together our collective expertise and resources, we're creating opportunities for discoveries that will improve lives, strengthen our communities, and deliver solutions tailored to the unique healthcare needs of Louisiana and the Gulf South."

A New Drug Target to Prevent Hard-to-Treat Breast Cancers

Among the most clinically significant projects, a team led by Dr. Qiang Shen, professor of interdisciplinary oncology at LSU (搜索)搜索该公司 Health New Orleans and director of the translational oncology program at the LSU-LCMC Health Cancer Center, received $250,000 to advance a novel, non-hormone-based approach to breast cancer (搜索)搜索该疾病 prevention.

Current breast cancer (搜索)搜索该疾病 prevention drugs work only against roughly half of estrogen-receptor-positive cancers and none of the estrogen-receptor-negative ones, leaving most breast cancers—including aggressive triple-negative types—without effective preventive options. This gap is particularly relevant in Louisiana, which has unusually high breast cancer death rates.

The team recently discovered a compound called HJC0152查看药品详情 that blocks a protein named PLIN2 (搜索)搜索该靶点, which appears to fuel tumor growth. With CAP support, they will now test whether targeting this protein can prevent, and even reverse, early tumors safely.

"Currently available prevention options do not work for the majority of breast cancers, including many of the most aggressive forms of this disease, leaving high-risk women without effective protection," said Dr. Shen. "Through this study, we hope to develop a completely non-hormone receptor-based path to prevent these cancers by targeting the PLIN2 (搜索)搜索该靶点 protein involved in breast cancer (搜索)搜索该疾病 development, which will ultimately save lives in Louisiana and beyond."

Dr. Shen's team includes colleagues at LSU (搜索)搜索该公司 Health New Orleans: Jiri Adamec, Zhipin Liang, Maria Dulfary Sanchez-Pino, Dr. Shou-Ching Tang, Dr. Luis Del Valle, Dr. Xiao Chen Wu, and Qingzhao Yu; as well as Dr. Marshall Stagg at Our Lady of the Lake; Guoshuai Cai at University of Florida; and Jia Zhou at University of Texas Medical Branch.

Mapping Fat-Liver Crosstalk in Obesity

Another $250,000 grant was awarded to a team led by Dr. Zubaidah Nor Hanipah, associate professor at Pennington Biomedical (搜索)搜索该词条's Metamor Institute, to map how fat and liver tissue communicate in obesity (搜索)搜索该疾病. Using spatial transcriptomics on paired tissue samples from weight-loss surgery patients in Louisiana, the team aims to create a first-of-its-kind atlas linking these tissues, enabling discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

"Traditional approaches have studied adipose tissue and liver in isolation, leaving a critical gap in understanding how these organs interact to drive disease," said Dr. Nor Hanipah. "Our work will create the first spatial map linking these tissues, enabling the discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets that can reshape obesity (搜索)搜索该疾病 care."

Reducing Chronic Disease Risk with AI

Robert Newton, professor and director of the Preventive Behavioral Medicine Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical (搜索)搜索该词条, leads a team receiving $242,167 to run an eight-week remote program for Our Lady of the Lake patients. The intervention uses an AI chatbot to address both lifestyle habits and socioeconomic factors—including transportation, food access, stress, and financial literacy—that drive chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity (搜索)搜索该疾病, diabetes, cancer, and dementia.

"There is a need to develop more effective prevention interventions for cardiovascular disease (搜索)搜索该疾病, which is the leading cause of death in the country," said Newton. "The findings from our study will determine if intervening on both behavioral and non-medical determinants, along with novel technology, will be effective in reducing risk factors."

Predicting Heat Illness in Athletes

Cory Coehoorn, director of the Rehabilitation Science Program and associate professor at LSU (搜索)搜索该公司 Health Shreveport, received $210,022 to develop machine-learning models that predict dangerous core body temperatures in high school football players. The project will gather physiological and environmental data from 100 athletes using wearable and core-temperature sensors, with the goal of creating a deployable tool providing real-time heat risk alerts to coaches and trainers.

"Too often, the first sign that an athlete is in trouble from the heat is when symptoms have already begun to appear," said Coehoorn. "This project is designed to help identify risk earlier, before a heat-related illness becomes an emergency."

Understanding REBOA's Biological Impact

Dr. Alison Smith, associate professor of surgery at LSU (搜索)搜索该公司 Health New Orleans, leads a $208,184 project studying the body's response to Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA), a balloon-based procedure used to control severe bleeding in trauma patients. The research will measure inflammatory and metabolic markers in patients undergoing REBOA, comparing partial versus complete occlusion and how time affects outcomes.

"Hemorrhage shock remains the leading cause of death for trauma patients, and as Level 1 Trauma Centers, Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge and University Medical Center in New Orleans have the responsibility for not only providing excellent care but also leading the way in research," said Dr. Smith.

Saliva-Based Brain Injury Detection

Guillaume Spielmann, associate professor of kinesiology at LSU (搜索)搜索该公司 and lead trauma researcher at Our Lady of the Lake, received $238,073 to investigate salivary biomarkers of mild to moderate brain injury in elite collegiate athletes. The project will collect saliva from up to 60 college football players throughout a season, comparing results against established concussion tests of eye movement and thinking ability.

"Concussions and repetitive head impacts remain a significant concern for athletes, yet we still lack practical tools to detect and monitor brain injury early and accurately in real-world settings," said Spielmann.

Keeping Adolescents in Sports

Tiffany Stewart, Dudley & Beverly Coates Endowed Professor and director of the Behavior Technology Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical (搜索)搜索该词条, leads a $242,508 project studying why approximately one-third of teens drop out of organized sports by age 14. The research will examine 12-to-18-year-olds in South Louisiana using fitness tests, screenings, questionnaires, and interviews to identify factors behind staying or quitting.

"The question isn't simply why adolescents drop out of sport—it's what helps them stay," said Stewart. "Too many young people leave sport at the very stage of life when they stand to benefit from it most."