This core offers services for clinical determination of:

• Body composition and bioimaging by DEXA, CT, and MRI
   
• In situ biochemistry using magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS)
   
• Energy metabolism by indirect calorimetry and doubly labeled water
   
• Insulin sensitivity and carbohydrate rate metabolism
   
• Endocrine profiles of research volunteers

On the behavioral side, this core will provide expertise and measurements of:

• Energy intake by the universal eating monitor, the weigh back methods, the macronutrient self-selection paradigm, and questionnaires and interviews
   
• Physical activity by monitoring (assessment of spontaneous activity using novel systems to be develop and validated), questionnaires and interviews

The Human Phenotyping Core will advance MRS imaging abilities, as an activity of the CNRU. Our first priority will be to re-establish our current protocol for measuring intramyocellular and intrahepatic lipid using 1H Magnetic Resonance (currently performed on a 1.5 T clinical magnet at an Imaging Center in a Baton Rouge hospital) on the new 3.0 T magnet acquired by the Pennington (see above under IIa.). We will then establish the procedures for assessing muscle and liver glycogen by 13C MRS and measuring ATP turnover during exercise using 31 P MRS. This will involve establishing signal acquisition routines, selecting and testing coils, developing and testing carbon and phosphorus phantoms and collecting reliability and validity data in human subjects