Leinninger Receives Promotion & Red Cedar Distinguished Professorship
July 18, 2024
IIT-affiliated faculty member Gina Leinninger was recently promoted to full professor and was also awarded the title of Red Cedar Distinguished Professor for her leadership and research achievements. This distinction is awarded to Spartans with “exemplary scholarly accomplishments” and who demonstrate “teaching innovation and excellence” by the Office of Research and Innovation, the Office of the Provost and in the case of Lenninger, the College of Natural Science. Faculty awardees retain the title of "Red Cedar Distinguished Professor" for the duration of their service at MSU. Each also receives scholarly support for the first three years after their award. The funds are provided equally by the nominating college(s), the Vice President for Research and Innovation, and the Provost.
The Leinninger Laboratory studies how neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) contribute to energy balance and obesity. The LHA is crucial area of the brain for regulating feeding, drinking, sleep and locomotor behaviors that can directly affect weight. Indeed, LHA neurons regulate some of the same brain circuits that mediate reward sensing and addiction (i.e. dopamine neurons.) There are several populations of LHA neurons that differ in their expression of neuropeptides and where they project within the brain (including populations containing neurotensin, orexin, leptin receptor and others) suggesting that these neuronal populations control different aspects of metabolic sensing and physiological output behavior. The goal of the Leinninger lab is to understand how discrete neuronal populations in the LHA contribute to energy balance and physiology as a whole. They utilize novel mouse models, state-of-the art neuronal tract tracing and neuronal regulation techniques to interrogate LHA neurons and their role in physiology.
“We have to eat to survive,” Leinninger said. “Yet, eating too much promotes the development of obesity, a disease that increases risk for type 2 diabetes, stroke, cancer, chronic pain, and shortens life span. I’m motivated to understand how the brain normally controls feeding we need to live, what goes awry, and how this knowledge can guide treatments to help individuals lose weight and reverse metabolic disease.”
Leinninger also said she will use the award to help support and train the next generation of talented researchers, including those from groups that are historically underrepresented in science.
Congratulations to Dr. Leinninger on her promotion and the distinctive recognition of Red Cedar Distinguished Professor!
For more information on Dr. Leinninger and her award, please visit:
https://natsci.msu.edu/news/2024-04-exemplary-scholarship-and-education.aspx