Location: Obesity and Metabolism Research
Project Number: 2032-10700-003-041-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2026
End Date: Aug 31, 2027
Objective:
The objective of this Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement is to facilitate the joint conduct of human nutrition research at USDA-ARS WHNRC, located on the UC Davis campus. Over the period of performance, the project will: (1) determine whether an 8-week pulse-enriched diet improves muscle strength (hand-grip, primary outcome), physical performance (SPPB), body composition, and circulating irisin levels in older adults (=60 yr) vulnerable to sarcopenia; and (2) elucidate molecular mediators of the effect of pulse consumption on muscle outcomes, including irisin as a therapeutic target, PBMC transcriptomics with integrated mediation analysis, and gut microbiota profiling with targeted SCFA metabolomics.
Approach:
UC Davis will support clinical studies conducted at WHNRC by employing and providing technical and medical personnel required for research on human subjects. This includes a Human Studies manager; research dietitians and metabolic kitchen personnel; personnel with specialized training in clinical procedures such as phlebotomy, body composition analysis, and exercise physiology; Clinical Nurses obtained from the UC Davis Medical Center; and recruiters/Clinical Research Coordinators with expertise in volunteer recruitment. The study is a randomized, assessor-blinded, two-arm parallel-group controlled trial comparing a pulse-enriched diet to a pulse-free control diet, with integrated genomic, bioinformatic, and gut microbiome analyses led by the Cooperator PI’s team.