Boosting liver fat burning to help fatty liver, NASH, and type 2 diabetes
Official title: Targeting hepatic mitochondrial oxidation to treat NAFLD, NASH and type 2 diabetes
Funded at Yale University · NIH-11252534 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether increasing the liver's ability to burn fat using a long-term glucagon infusion can lower liver fat and improve blood sugar in people with fatty liver and type 2 diabetes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project start | January 18, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $709,296 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK135645-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11252534 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes who can travel to Yale and are willing to undergo metabolic testing and infusions would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without NAFLD, those with advanced cirrhosis or other non-NAFLD liver diseases, and young children are unlikely to benefit from this intervention.
What this research studies
You'll have tests to measure how well the mitochondria in your liver burn fat and how that relates to liver fat and blood sugar control. Researchers will give a controlled, chronic glucagon infusion to raise liver fat oxidation and then track changes in liver fat, insulin resistance, and glucose production. The plan builds on animal and nonhuman primate results that showed improving liver fat burning can reverse insulin resistance and diabetes features. Most procedures and visits for testing and infusions would take place at Yale in New Haven.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could reduce liver fat and improve blood sugar control, potentially slowing progression to NASH and diabetes complications.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal and nonhuman primate studies showed that boosting hepatic mitochondrial fat oxidation can reverse insulin resistance and diabetes, while controlled human testing of chronic glucagon infusion for this purpose is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Yale University
New Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Shulman, Gerald I — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Shulman, Gerald I
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.