Dr. Anne Kwitek, an Associate Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology, Internal Medicine, and Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, and the Associate Director of the Iowa Institute of Human Genetics, has received a Carver MRIG award entitled: “A novel regulator of mitochondrial function causes metabolic syndrome in the LH rat.” The overall goal of Dr. Kwitek’s research is to identify novel genes and pathways causing metabolic syndrome (MetS). The aim of this project is to determine if RGD1562963, a novel gene that is genetically altered in a rat model of MetS, causes disease by dysregulating genes necessary for proper mitochondrial function. Dr. Matthew Potthoff is a collaborator on the project.