UR CTSI Population Health Postdoc Receives Award for Obesity Research

Ying Meng, Ph.D., R.N., Population Health postdoctoral fellow at the UR CTSI and research associate in the School of Nursing, was a winner in this year’s Bio-Behavioral Research poster competition at the Obesity Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting. Meng presented her research on genetic and environmental causes of excess weight gain during pregnancy at the meeting in National Harbor, Maryland at the beginning of November.

Meng studies how the diets of mothers-to-be may interact with several obesity-related genes to impact how much weight they gain during pregnancy. Gaining too much weight during pregnancy can lead to obesity and negative health outcomes later in life for moms and their babies.

In her award-winning poster titled “A SNP Close to the KCTD15 Gene Modified the Relationship between Dietary Fat Intake and Weight Gain during Pregnancy”, Meng showed that pregnant mothers’ fat intake could modify the effect of a specific obesity-related gene on weight gain during pregnancy. Women who had a specific form of this obesity-related gene gained more weight during pregnancy if they also consumed more fat.

Her study points the importance of understanding interactions between diet and genes to create personalized weight management programs for pregnant women who may be at risk for excessive weight gain during pregnancy.

Meng’s mentors, Susan Groth, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor in the University of Rochester School of Nursing, and Dongmei Li, Ph.D., associate professor in the UR CTSI, were also authors on the poster presentation.

Michael Hazard | 11/21/2017