Epitranscriptomics in Human Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

PI: Philip Kern MD Statement of Work: Throughout the grant period of five years, Dr. Kern and his research team will be responsible for recruiting of male and female research participants from the various groups as described in the application. His team will be responsible for collection of human adipose, skeletal muscle, and blood samples from the participants. Dr. Kern and his team will store the tissue samples in recommended preservatives for extraction of RNA (and protein if necessary) and blood/serum samples for assays for hormones, metabolites and markers. The samples will be shipped regularly to the Kulkarni/He Labs at recommended conditions to maintain the integrity of the samples. The phenotypic details of the donors (e.g. glycemic status, HbA1C, BMI, medications and other variables) will be shared among the co-PIs. Dr. Kern and his research personnel will participate in regular meetings with the co-PIs to discuss data and progress on the project on a regular basis (e.g. every quarter or 6-monthly as convenient). These meetings will be held by Zoom or by Webinar. In addition, if the current conditions regarding Covid improve and if considered safe, Dr. Kern and his team will also participate in in-person meetings with all the other collaborative groups on an annual basis. Dr. Kern will meet with the co-PIs to assist in the preparation of annual progress reports to the NIH to reflect the progress in the projects. Dr. Kern and colleagues will co-ordinate in preparing for presentations of the work at scientific meetings and preparation of manuscripts for publications.