GI Research Conference: Laura Rupprecht, PhD

The Duke GI Research Conference series features various research experts who share their ongoing research and the pathways/potential impact of their research on clinical practice. With an emphasis on discussing one's career path and potential opportunities for collaborative research, this series includes an audience of Duke GI fellows, postdocs, and research faculty. Today's Presenter: Dr. Laura Rupprecht's scientific passion is to delineate the physiologic processes that link what we eat with how we behave, and how disruptions in these systems contribute to disease. Her graduate training at the University of Pittsburgh defined the relationship between nicotine reward and energy balance in human smokers and rodents. Curious about how the GI tract can control reward behaviors, she joined Duke for postdoctoral training with Diego Bohórquez. Her postdoctoral work developed new tools to uncover the gut-brain circuit controlling sugar preference. In April 2024, she joined the Duke GI faculty, and is leading studies defining the role of the specialized neuropod cells in reward-driven feeding and obesity.