Three Carnegie Mellon University Department of Biological Sciences(opens in new window) faculty members have received grants from The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation, a supporting organization of The Pittsburgh Foundation, which announced $2.1 million in funding to support scientific research at institutions across Pennsylvania.

Kuang will explore the mechanics of why metabolism is different in males and females. Using a mouse model, his researcher team will study how gut microbiota regulates sex-specific rhythms in the intestine and how that affects nutrient absorption and energy stores.

Eberly Family Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Yongxin (Leon) Zhao(opens in new window) and Maxwell H. and Gloria C. Connan Professor of Biological Sciences Alison Barth(opens in new window) received a $300,000 New Initiative grant. The New Initiative grants encourages investigators with strong research records to establish interdisciplinary collaborations that require expertise beyond that of any single researcher and take a novel approach to a topic.

Zhao and Barth will seek to better understand how inhibitory neurons in the mammalian brain reconfigure within the brain's cortical circuitry to facilitate learning.

Grants from The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation(opens in new window), a supporting organization of the Pittsburgh Foundation, go to institutes of higher learning in Pennsylvania for scientists pursuing research that explores essential questions and/or crosses disciplinary boundaries.