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Faculty Detail    
Name BARBARA GOWER
  
Campus Address WEBB 624C Zip 3360
Phone  (205) 934-4087
E-mail  bgower@uab.edu
Other websites
     


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Nutrition Sciences Chair Office  Nutrition Sciences Chair Office Professor
Center  Center for AIDS Research  Center for AIDS Research Professor
Center  Center for Women's Reproductive Health  Center for Women's Reproductive Health Professor
Center  Nutr Sci - Phys & Metabolism (Org Ret)  Clin Nutrition Res (Org Ret) Professor
Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center Professor
Center  Comprehensive Diabetes Center  Comprehensive Diabetes Center Professor
Center  Med - Cardiovascular Disease  Ctr Cardiovasc Bio (Org Ret) Professor
Center  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci Professor
Center  Ctr for Exercise Medicine (Org Ret)  Ctr for Exercise Medicine (Org Ret) Professor
Center  Integrative Center for Aging Research  Integrative Center for Aging Research Professor
Center  Nutrition Sciences Research  Nutrition Obesity Res Ctr (NORC) Professor

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations
Integrative Biomedical Sciences 
Medical Scientist Training Program 

Biographical Sketch 
Dr. Gower is a Professor and Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Nutrition Sciences. She also is Director of core laboratories for the Nutrition Obesity Research Center, the Diabetes Research Center, and the CCTS. Dr. Gower’s research includes both basic and clinical investigations into aspects of obesity and energy metabolism, with an emphasis on insulin secretion/action and the role of the endocrine system in the regulation of metabolism.



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Dietary and physiologic determinants of chronic disease
Description
Dr. Gower’s research focus is on the interplay between diet, endocrinology, and metabolism and their relation to chronic metabolic disease, with expertise in evaluation of body composition, body fat distribution, insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function. Her two major research areas are nutrition interventions for obesity and metabolic health, and risk for type 2 diabetes in African-Americans. She recently completed two NIH-funded studies concerning the role of diet macronutrient composition on reproductive and metabolic outcomes. The results from these studies were recently translated into clinical care, and have become part of UAB’s EatRight Weight Management Program. She currently is conducting two NIH-funded research studies to 1) probe how race-adiposity interactions and oxidative stress influence hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity, and 2) examine the role of exercise intensity in determining insulin sensitivity.

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
Goss AM, Goree LLT, Ellis AC, Chandler-Laney PC, Casazza K, Lockhart M, Gower BA. 2013. Effects of diet macronutrient composition on body composition and fat distribution during weight maintenance and weight loss. Obesity, 21:1139-42.   PMCID: PMC3735822 
Gower BA, Chandler-Laney PC, Ovalle F, Goree LL, Azziz R, Desmond RA, Granger WM, Goss AM, Bates GW. 2013. Favourable metabolic effects of a eucaloric lower-carbohydrate diet in women with PCOS. Clin. Endocrinol. 79:550-557.   
Goss AM, Chandler-Laney PC, Ovalle F, Goree LL, Azziz R, Desmond RA, Bates GW, Gower BA. 2014. Effects of a eucaloric reduced-carbohydrate diet on body composition and fat distribution in women with PCOS. Metabolism 63(10):1257-64.   PMID: 25125349 
Gower BA, Goss AM. A lower-carbohydrate, higher-fat diet reduces abdominal and inter-muscular fat and increases insulin sensitivity in adults at risk for type 2 diabetes. J. Nutrition. ePub ahead of print.   PMC4264021. 
Goss AM, Gower BA. 2012. Insulin sensitivity is associated with thigh adipose tissue. Metabolism 61:1817-23.   PMCID: PMC3465478 
Gower, BA, Nagy, TR, Goran, MI. 1999. Visceral fat, insulin sensitivity, and lipids in prepubertal children. Diabetes, 48:1515-1521.   PMID:10426367 
Gower BA, Granger WM, Franklin F, Shewchuk RM, Goran MI. 2002. Contribution of insulin secretion and clearance to glucose-induced insulin concentration in African-American and Caucasian children. J. Clin. Endo. Metab., 87:2218-2224.   PMID:11994367 
Gower BA, Fernandez JR, Beasley TM, Shriver MD, Goran MI. 2003. Using genetic admixture to explain racial differences in insulin-related phenotypes. Diabetes, 52:1047-1051.   PMID 12663479. 
Chandler-Laney P, Phadke R, Granger W, Muñoz AJ, Dalla Man C, Cobelli C, Ovalle F, Fernández J, Gower BA. 2010. Adiposity and β-cell function: relationships differ with ethnicity and age. Obesity, 18:2086-92.   PMCID:PMC3074461 
Gower BA, Hunter GR, Chandler-Laney P, Alvarez J, Bush N. 2010. Glucose metabolism and diet predict changes in adiposity and fat distribution in weight-reduced women. Obesity, 18:1532-1537.   PMCID:PMC3070365 
Gower BA, Alvarez JA, Bush NC, Hunter GR. 2013. Insulin sensitivity affects propensity to obesity in an ethnic-specific manner: results from two controlled weight loss intervention studies. Nutr. Metab., 10:3. doi: 10.1186/1743-7075-10-3.   PMCID: PMC3571978