History
LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center opened its doors in 1988. The vision of its founder, Louisiana oilman and philanthropist, C. B. Pennington, was “to promote healthier lives through research and education in nutrition and preventive medicine.” Research is the sole purpose of Pennington Biomedical; their mission is to discover the triggers of chronic diseases through innovative research that improves human health across the lifespan.
The center’s science focuses on how nutrition, activity, and genetic factors influence metabolism in health and chronic disease including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and dementia.
Their academic research enterprise, led by executive director William T. Cefalu, MD, includes approximately 70 faculty and more than 15 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 40 laboratories supported by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and support personnel, along with 13 specialized core service facilities. More than 450 Pennington Biomedical employees perform research activities in 688,000 state-of-the-art facilities on a 222-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
They are home to the Center for Research on Botanicals and Metabolic Syndrome (one of only 3 in the country) and the Institute for Dementia Research & Prevention (IDRP). Both are nationally-acclaimed, federally funded centers and collaborative consortiums. Additionally, Pennington Biomedical is a Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE).
CCTS Partnership
As a CCTS partner, Pennington Biomedical has investigative expertise in the areas of obesity and aging research, botanicals and metabolic syndrome, and drug development. Pennington Biomedical is well known as a model for Clinical & Translational (CT) research, its faculty and programs that span basic, clinical and population research. The center has an excellent CT research base, an excellent track record of postgraduate career development, and a history of technology development advancing the CT research field.
Pennington Biomedical is involved with the Executive Council, the Southeastern Informatics Consortium and the Bioinformatics Collaboratory, and the CCTS Multisite Study Support Module. As part of the CCTS Training Academy, they are involved with the KL2 training program, panels, a K writing club, TIERS, workshops and offer mini-sabbaticals. As a member of the National Exercise Trials Network (NExTNet), Pennington Biomedical faculty are well positioned to conduct rigorous trials in exercise and rehabilitation medicine.
To learn more about the research initiatives and resources at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, click here.