Andres Acosta, M.D., Ph.D., receives Gerstner Family Career Development Award from Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine

Andres Acosta, M.D., Ph.D. (CTSA ’14, GI ’15), Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, received a Gerstner Family Career Development Award in Individualized Medicine from the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine.

An individualized approach to fighting obesity

Dr. Acosta has identified different types of obesity, based on a person’s gut-brain function, genetics and lifestyle. The Gerstner Award will allow him to advance his research to identify factors that can predict how patients within the different types of obesity respond to weight-loss therapies, and uncover genetic differences among obese patients that can be used to develop targeted treatments.

“Thanks to the Gerstner Award, we hope to move from a one-treatment-fits-all approach to the right treatment for each patient,” says Dr. Acosta. “We want to develop individualized strategies that lead to successful weight loss and long-term weight control, allowing patients to live healthier lives.”

Each year Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine selects Gerstner Award recipients to promote a specialized workforce capable of moving individualized medicine from discovery into patient care. This initiative provides important seed money for early-stage investigators to conduct research to predict, prevent, treat and even cure disease through individualized therapies.