Philip Kern, MD, a nationally known obesity researcher at UAMS, has received a highly selective MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), funding his research into the chemical mechanisms of fat cells with up to $2.79 million over 10 years. Only a small percentage of grant applicants receive the Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award, intended to recognize long-term research success with stable funding.

Kern, a professor of endocrinology in the UAMS College of Medicine and associate chief of staff for research at the VA, is just the second UAMS researcher to receive a MERIT Award. The NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) selected Kern for the award when he sought renewal of a long-standing grant for studying an enzyme in fat tissue responsible for removing fat from the blood. In 2005, Kern and other UAMS researchers received a $2.2 million NIH grant for a clinical trial related to the accumulation of fat in muscle tissue.

Kern currently has research grants totaling about $715,000 annually.