BATON ROUGE - Dr. Florina Corpodean was named as the 2024 Resident Research Award recipient by the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, or SSAT.

A postdoctoral researcher and surgical research fellow at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Corpodean works in the Translational and Integrative Gastrointestinal and Endocrine Research laboratory, or TIGER lab, under the direction of Dr. Vance Albaugh.

Dr. Corpodean is an aspiring surgeon-scientist, currently dedicating her postdoctoral research to explore how the brain and intestinal tract communicate.

The SSAT recognition comes with a $25,000 award to further support Dr. Corpodean’s research. Her study, entitled “Neural Characterization of the Gut-Brain Axis to Altered Nutrient Delivery,” is developed in collaboration with Pennington Biomedical researchers, with Dr. Albaugh as primary mentor and Drs. Philip Schauer, Christopher Morrison, and Heike Münzberg as co-mentors.

“This award is not only an honor, but an opportunity to continue my research in the growing field of gut-brain communication,” said Dr. Corpodean. “I am humbled by this recognition, and I am confident that it will serve as a catalyst for further study and new knowledge in the field of metabolic and bariatric surgery. A debt of gratitude is owed to my mentors, Dr. Albaugh and Dr. Schauer, who have guided me through this research and along my career path; I look forward to continuing to work with them over the next two years thanks in part to this award.”

“We congratulate Dr. Corpodean on this prestigious honor and look forward to reading more about her research once it’s completed,” said Dr. John Kirwan, Executive Director at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. “Mentoring young researchers plays such a key role in what we do at Pennington Biomedical, and Dr. Corpodean has some of the best mentors in the world in Dr. Vance Albaugh, Dr. Chris Morrison and Dr. Heike Münzberg.”

Dr. Corpodean earned her Doctor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and she is a 2016 graduate of Knox College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience.

“I am exceedingly proud of Flori for receiving this highly coveted award,” said Dr. Albaugh, Assistant Professor of Metabolic Surgery in Pennington Biomedical’s Metabolic Surgery Lab. “As a mentor, the best part of this job is seeing the success of your trainees and watching them go forward in their careers. It is an honor to champion Flori and her hard work, and I look forward to continued collaboration in the TIGER lab.”

The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract is primarily focused on advancing the science and practice of gastrointestinal surgery. There are few awards given to trainees in the surgical field annually, with the Resident Research Award among the most competitive and sought-after.

Dr. Kirwan added, “This recognition is also a testament to the unique partnership set forth by the Governor’s Office and Louisiana Economic Development to bring together Pennington Biomedical, Our Lady of the Lake, and LSU Health New Orleans in establishing the Metamor Institute. Awards like Dr. Corpodean will become more commonplace thanks to the foresight to build partnerships here in Baton Rouge that focus on advanced treatment of obesity and diabetes.”