Transforming Public Health: Ann Brown’s Research Expands with COBRE Grant

Ann Brown, associate professor and director of the Human Performance Laboratory, conducts compelling research on women’s health and nutrition, but with the assistance of a new grant, she and her team can expand their research efforts even further.

The University of Idaho recently secured over $11 million dollars through the National Institute of Health’s Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) program. Brown assumes a pivotal role as one of the three research project leads for COBRE, collaborating closely with Principal Investigator Shelley McGuire, who also serves as the director of the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences. “Having this amount for research feels unreal because it allows us to bring things into a totally different atmosphere,” remarked Brown. 

Playing a crucial role in Brown’s research project is Ariel Aguiar Bonfim Cruz, a research assistant tasked with overseeing data collection, manuscript composition and arranging their new lab space.

“Our component of COBRE is to look at a specific population called normal weight obesity, which is individuals that have a normal body mass index (BMI) but have excess adipose tissue, which would indicate that they actually have obesity,” Cruz explained. Building upon their previous longitudinal study, Brown’s team aims to compare pre-menopausal women with normal weight obesity against their lean counterparts.

With COBRE funding, the team can employ advanced techniques in their research including fitness testing, blood analyses and various body composition measures spanning three visits.

“Some of the cool new measures that we'll actually be able to utilize with the grant is looking at things like muscle quality through ultrasound and phase angle, which is an indicator of cellular health in adipose tissue, as well as muscle tissue,” Brown added. These measures provide a deeper understanding of body composition beyond traditional BMI assessments, particularly crucial in cases of normal weight obesity.

“These individuals who are going and receiving health care may be unaware that they are at an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases or type two diabetes,” noted Cruz.

The team’s goal in this project is to identify what phenotype and characteristics are associated with these individuals so they can better assess, diagnose and provide more preventative care. This project directly influences public health, positioning Brown and her team as leaders in innovative health studies.

Story by Sophia Robertson and Kassidy Wigen