January 2026
The Building a Pillar of Excellence in Metabolic Research at IU Symposium, held in November 2025, convened clinical and research faculty, trainees, administrative and research staff, and industry partners from across Indiana to explore how metabolic research can inform cancer prevention, early detection, treatment response, and long-term health. Sessions spanned basic, translational, clinical, and population sciences, reflecting the broad scope of metabolism-related work underway across IU.
The goals were to assess breadth and depth of research related to these topics across two campuses — IU Indianapolis and IU Bloomington — and to identify areas for potential synergy for investigators from both campuses to work together to address health issues relevant to Hoosiers.
The symposium featured three keynote presentations that framed metabolism as a shared priority cutting across multiple disciplines.
- Richard DiMarchi, PhD, distinguished professor of chemistry and Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences at IU and a member of the National Academy of Medicine and National Inventors Hall of Fame, discussed “Drug Discovery Directed at Obesity and Associated Diseases,” highlighting how decades of metabolic drug discovery continue to reshape obesity and diabetes care.
- Melissa Kacena, PhD, vice chair for research and professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, director of the Indiana Center for Musculoskeletal Health, and cancer center member, presented “Leveraging Current and Future Musculoskeletal Research Assets to Drive Discovery,” emphasizing the tight link between bone, muscle, and metabolic health across the lifespan.
- Jiang Bian, PhD, associate dean of data science, Walther and Regenstrief Professor of Cancer Informatics, and chief research information officer at the cancer center, delivered “Real-World Data to Real-World Evidence: Cancer Risk and Outcomes in the Context of GLP-1 and Obesity,” illustrating how large-scale data and analytics can clarify the relationships between obesity, metabolic therapies, and cancer outcomes.
The symposium also included a breakout session in which participants identified research gaps, shared resources, and new collaborations. One of the most significant outcomes from this session was the decision to initiate planning for a multi-PI P01 team-science grant centered on environment, obesity and cancer risk. The emerging concept aims to connect foundational metabolism research, clinical trials, and population-level studies in a single, integrated program.
The teams identified areas of collaboration to develop a P01 application. These included identification environmental pollutants relevant to Hoosiers, using expertise in Drosophila genetics and metabolism to screen obesogenic effects of these pollutants, extend the studies to human models to further validate obesogenic effects, narrow down the number of pollutants to those that are off very high relevance and finally investigate the presence of such pollutants in human tissues by collaborating with the Komen Tissue Bank and bariatric surgeons.
Trainee talks and a poster session showcased metabolism-focused projects across biology, urology, public health, and other departments, reinforcing the symposium’s role as a platform for emerging investigators.
This symposium marked the first step toward uniting Indiana’s incredible metabolic research talent under one collaborative umbrella. By connecting trainees with investigators across campuses and disciplines, we’re creating opportunities for mentorship, skill-building, and collaboration that will accelerate discoveries across IU.
The symposium was co-led by the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, the IU Bloomington School of Public Health, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, and organized by the Cancer, Obesity, Metabolic-Musculoskeletal Pathways: Advancing Scientific Solutions (COMPASS) Working Group.
—Jason Tennessen, PhD; Hari Nakshatri, PhD; Joseph Shaw, PhD; and Misty Hawkins, PhD.
