Helping premature babies build lean muscle with targeted nutrition
Official title: REGULATION OF NEONATAL MUSCLE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
Funded at Texas A&m Agrilife Research · NIH-11396472 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether giving specific amino acid supplements to premature infants helps them build more muscle after early birth.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Texas A&m Agrilife Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Station, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | April 15, 2016 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $593,681 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD085573-26 |
| Project ID | NIH-11396472 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
The ideal candidates are premature (preterm) infants with extrauterine growth restriction who are receiving neonatal care and nutritional support.
✕Less likely to help
Full-term infants or babies whose growth problems are caused by non-nutritional issues would not be the intended beneficiaries of these findings.
What this research studies
If your baby was born early, researchers are studying why preterm infants often gain less muscle and have different responses to feeding. They will examine how feeding normally stimulates muscle protein building and whether prematurity blunts that response. The team will give targeted amino acids designed to boost mTORC1-related protein synthesis and measure muscle growth and cellular markers of muscle building. Results are intended to inform better feeding approaches in neonatal care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to nutrition plans or supplements that help premature infants gain healthier amounts of lean muscle and lower long-term metabolic risks.
How similar studies have gone: Prior laboratory and small clinical studies link amino-acid driven mTORC1 signaling to increased protein synthesis, but targeted supplementation to improve long-term lean growth in preemies is not yet proven.
Where this research is happening
-
Texas A&m Agrilife Research
College Station, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Davis, Teresa a — Texas A&m Agrilife Research
- Study coordinator: Davis, Teresa a
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.