Katie Page, MD
Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics
University of Southern California
Featured in the Session: Central Command (or Can We?): Insights into whether Modulating the Nervous System Can Improve Metabolic Health
When
Sunday, June 7
at 8:00 a.m.
Where
356 (Level 3)
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
What is your presentation about?
My presentation explores how sugars and non-nutritive sweeteners differently affect the brain, appetite regulation, and metabolic health. I will discuss emerging research showing that the brain distinguishes sweetness from caloric energy, leading to distinct gut-brain, hormonal, and reward responses after consuming sugar versus non-nutritive sweeteners. The talk also highlights how these biologic responses may influence hunger, food motivation, obesity risk, and long-term metabolic health.
How do you hope your presentation will impact diabetes research or care?
I hope this presentation encourages a more nuanced understanding of how sweeteners influence metabolism beyond their calorie content alone. By integrating neuroimaging and endocrine research, I aim to help clinicians and researchers think more broadly about how dietary exposures affect appetite regulation and diabetes risk. Ultimately, I hope this work contributes to more personalized and evidence-based strategies for obesity and diabetes prevention and treatment.
How did you become involved with this area of diabetes research or care?
As a physician-scientist, my work focuses on understanding how the brain regulates appetite, metabolism, and diabetes risk. My research examines how sugars, non-nutritive sweeteners, and early-life metabolic exposures affect the neural and hormonal pathways that influence hunger, reward, and long-term metabolic health. By integrating patient care with translational research, I aim to uncover the biologic mechanisms driving diabetes and obesity and translate those discoveries into effective strategies for prevention and treatment.