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Boston Medical Center awarded $1.5 million grant for NAFLD research
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The National Institutes of Health’s National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases awarded a $1.5 million grant to Boston Medical Center for research on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to a press release.
The grant was awarded to Mengwei Zang, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the department of medicine at Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute at Boston University School of Medicine, and will be used for investigating molecular mechanisms and identifying proper treatments for NAFLD.
Mengwei Zang
Zang and colleagues will use in vitro and in vivo experimental models to determine how retinoic acid, a major metabolite of vitamin A, and its nuclear receptor maintain lipid homeostasis and slow down the progression of NAFLD, according to the release.
“This research could provide the rationale for the development of a vitamin A-based intervention for NAFLD, which could have a tremendous impact on the millions of Americans who have this disease,” Zang said in the release.
NAFLD affects more than 71 million Americans, including 25% of adults, and is commonly found in people who are overweight, obese or have diabetes.