How weight-loss surgery improves heart and metabolic health
Official title: Defining the pathways of cardiometabolic health after weight loss
Funded at Columbia University Health Sciences · NIH-11248848 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research looks at biological changes after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass to understand how the surgery helps adults with obesity reduce diabetes and heart disease risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Columbia University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $694,979 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK136134-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11248848 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with obesity, particularly those considering or who have had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or who have type 2 diabetes or high cardiovascular risk, would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without obesity or those not undergoing weight-loss surgery are unlikely to get direct benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
If you have obesity and are considering or have had weight-loss surgery, this project follows people who undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass to see what biological changes happen after the operation. Researchers will collect samples such as blood and stool and measure hormones, bile acids, metabolites, gut tissue signals, and the microbiome over time to link those changes to improvements in diabetes and heart risk. They will compare patterns across people to find common pathways that might explain why some patients get larger, longer-lasting benefits than others. Findings could point to tests that predict outcomes or to new treatments that reproduce the surgery's benefits without an operation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could identify biological signals that predict who benefits most from surgery and reveal targets for new therapies to lower diabetes and cardiovascular risk.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows bariatric surgery often improves diabetes and heart risk and has linked changes in hormones, bile acids, and the microbiome, but mapping the full set of pathways in humans remains incomplete.
Where this research is happening
-
Columbia University Health Sciences
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Thaker, Vidhu V. — Columbia University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Thaker, Vidhu V.
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Understanding how weight loss surgery improves heart and diabetes health
This study looks at how weight loss surgery, especially the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, can help improve heart health and lower the risk of diabetes by examining changes in hormones and gut bacteria, and it’s for people who have had this type of surgery to help understand how these changes can benefit their long-term hea
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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.