Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

Chemist to Study ‘Orally Effective Therapy’ to Fight Obesity

Wednesday, August 14, 2013, By Rob Enslin
Share
National Institutes of HealthResearch and Creative

Robert Doyle will experiment with ‘gut hormone’ and vitamin B12

A rendering of the Vitamin B12 and PYY3-36 conjugate (Illustration by Damian Allis)

A rendering of the Vitamin B12 and PYY3-36 conjugate (Illustration by Damian Allis)

A chemist in The College of Arts and Sciences has received a federal grant to study the oral administration of PYY3-36, a peptide that inhibits food intake by naturally switching off one’s appetite. The project is said to have major implications for people struggling with obesity and associated diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Robert Doyle, associate professor of chemistry, has been awarded $221,000 by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. His project will last for two years, with the option of a third, and will involve Christian L. Roth, a pediatric endocrinologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The award comes on the heels of a landmark decision by the American Medical Association to categorize obesity as a disease requiring a “range of interventions,” including weight-loss counseling, medication and surgery.

“Obesity is one of today’s leading health challenges—not only in North America and Europe, but also in Asia and Australia,” says Doyle, whose expertise spans chemistry and biology. “The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents is of particular concern, despite public health education and initiatives.”

At the heart of Doyle’s project is PYY3-36, a gut hormone that presumably supports the long-term benefits of bariatric surgery—currently, the only effective long-term exogenous treatment for obesity.

Doyle plans to utilize vitamin B12, which supports functioning of the brain and nervous system, to help protect and carry PYY3-36 through the gastrointestinal tract.

“We will trick the digestive system into carrying our peptide [PYY3-36], along with the B12,” says Doyle, who also holds faculty appointments in biology and biochemistry. “PYY3-36 will then send messages between the intestine and the brain, as well as in the brain, itself, telling you when you’re full. That’s why it’s called the ‘satiety peptide.’”

Since pharmacotherapy is merely an adjunct treatment for obesity management, the race is on to develop novel anti-obesity drugs that are safe and effective.

Doyle believes that orally effective therapy—particularly involving PYY3-36’s appetite-suppressing properties—may be the way forward.

“Ultimately, we want to develop an oral formulation that takes advantage of our bodies’ own appetite-control elements,” he says. “But first, we need to study its effects.”

Doyle, who earned a Ph.D. from Trinity College in Dublin, joined SU’s faculty in 2005. Since then, he has produced award-winning research that may lead to new treatments and diagnostic tools for diabetes and cancer. Much of his work, such as the utilization of B12 to orally deliver proteins, draws on chemical or systems biology research.

  • Author

Rob Enslin

  • Recent
  • Syracuse University 2025-26 Budget to Include Significant Expansion of Student Financial Aid
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • University’s Dynamic Sustainability Lab and Ireland’s BiOrbic Sign MOU to Advance Markets for the Biobased Economy
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Engaged Humanities Network Community Showcase Spotlights Collaborative Work
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • Students Engaged in Research and Assessment
    Tuesday, May 20, 2025, By News Staff
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Monday, May 19, 2025, By News Staff

More In Uncategorized

Syracuse Views Summer 2025

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by sending them directly to Syracuse University News at…

Syracuse Views Spring 2025

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by sending them directly to Syracuse University News at…

Syracuse Views Fall 2024

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by sending them directly to Syracuse University News at…

Syracuse Views Summer 2024

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by filling out a submission form or sending it directly…

Syracuse Views Spring 2024

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by filling out a submission form or sending it…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.