Dr. Hannah Cabré’s appointment as Assistant Professor at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center marks a significant advancement in the scientific investigation of female health, aging, and nutrition. As the newly appointed Director of the Aging, Gynecology, and Endocrinology Laboratory, Dr. Cabré is uniquely positioned to lead an interdisciplinary research effort targeting the complex interplay between female sex hormones and metabolic health across the lifespan. Her elevation to faculty status, effective May 1, follows distinguished postdoctoral mentoring by luminaries such as Dr. Eric Ravussin and Dr. Leanne Redman, solidifying her as a rising expert in her field.
The scientific community has increasingly recognized the crucial role that sex hormones play in shaping health trajectories, particularly as women transition through various life stages including menopause. Dr. Cabré’s research is pioneering in its focus on how these hormones influence nutritional requirements, body composition, and physiological performance throughout aging. She aims to dissect the molecular and systemic mechanisms that affect muscle maintenance—a key determinant of metabolic health and functional independence—during menopause, a phase characterized by dramatic endocrinological shifts.
Her investigative approach integrates advanced methodologies in human movement science, endocrinology, and nutritional physiology to elucidate how hormone fluctuations alter metabolic rates, fat distribution, and muscle protein synthesis. This work has profound implications for developing personalized lifestyle interventions that can mitigate the adverse effects of aging on women’s health, potentially delaying onset of metabolic disorders such as sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and insulin resistance. The translational nature of her research holds promise for the design of targeted nutritional therapies and exercise regimens tailored to hormonal status.
Dr. Cabré’s professional journey is a testament to her commitment to this niche intersection of science. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics at the University of Georgia, laying a solid foundation in nutritional science. Her subsequent Master of Science degree in Sports Nutrition and Exercise Physiology further honed her expertise in metabolism and physical performance. Culminating in a Ph.D. in Human Movement Science from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her academic training equips her with both the technical prowess and holistic perspective necessary for advancing this complex domain.
The Pennington Biomedical Research Center itself stands as a beacon for metabolic research, boasting more than 600 personnel distributed among 44 clinical and research laboratories, alongside 16 specialized core facilities. This infrastructure supports Dr. Cabré’s ambition to bridge basic biological insights with clinical and population-level data. By weaving together cellular mechanisms and societal health outcomes, the center leads global efforts to unravel the multifactorial origins of conditions like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and dementia—which disproportionately affect aging populations.
Recognition of Dr. Cabré’s contributions came swiftly, evidenced by her award as Outstanding Postdoctoral Researcher in 2024 at Pennington Biomedical. This accolade underscores her innovative research methods, impactful findings, and dedication to mentoring the next generation of scientists. Her capacity to inspire culminates not only from her scholarly output but also her role in fostering diversity and equity within the scientific workforce, spotlighting women’s science and early career researchers as critical to the advancement of biomedical discovery.
Central to her lab’s agenda is the detailed examination of menopause’s metabolic impact through a mechanistic understanding of hormone-regulated pathways influencing skeletal muscle. Given that muscle mass and function are paramount for metabolic homeostasis, Dr. Cabré investigates how declining estrogen levels disrupt anabolic signaling cascades, impair mitochondrial function, and exacerbate inflammatory responses, thereby accelerating muscle degradation. These findings could revolutionize the paradigms guiding clinical recommendations for midlife and older women.
Lifestyle interventions form a cornerstone of Dr. Cabré’s translational efforts, as her team explores how diet composition, physical activity, and hormone replacement therapies can synergistically attenuate catabolic processes. They employ longitudinal cohort studies and sophisticated biomarker analyses to quantify changes in muscle fiber size, fat infiltration, and metabolic enzyme activity, providing evidence-based strategies for enhancing healthspan and quality of life during aging.
Her vision extends beyond the laboratory bench; she advocates for integrating sex-specific biological insights into public health policies and clinical practice to address lingering disparities in women’s health outcomes. This commitment resonates with global public health priorities emphasizing precision medicine, where interventions are tailored not only by genetics and environment but also by sex-based physiological distinctions.
Collaborative mentorship and interdisciplinary summits are integral to Dr. Cabré’s role, as she coordinates efforts across molecular biology, endocrinology, nutrition, geriatrics, and exercise science disciplines. Such integrative frameworks accelerate discovery, encouraging innovative hypotheses and comprehensive strategies to dissect and remediate age-related biological decline among women.
Dr. Cabré’s appointment is timely given shifting demographic trends underscoring rapidly aging female populations worldwide. The quest to illuminate biological mechanisms underpinning healthy aging—boosted by her laboratory’s cutting-edge research—has transformative potential to reshape therapeutic landscapes, translate novel biomarkers into clinical diagnostics, and inspire holistic frameworks for nutrition and metabolic health management.
In her own words, Dr. Cabré expresses honor in joining the prestigious faculty at Pennington Biomedical, motivated by the center’s excellence in fostering pioneering research designed to optimize nutrition interventions and improve health outcomes across all life stages. Her work exemplifies a new frontier in biomedical inquiry, marrying scientific rigor with a profound societal impact.
Subject of Research: Female sex hormones, aging, nutrition, skeletal muscle physiology, and menopause-related metabolic health
Article Title: Dr. Hannah Cabré Advances Critical Research on Women’s Health, Aging, and Metabolism at Pennington Biomedical
News Publication Date: May 2024
Web References: https://www.pbrc.edu/research-and-faculty/faculty/cabre-hannah.aspx, https://www.pbrc.edu/news/media/2025/hannah_cabre_qa.aspx, https://www.pbrc.edu/news/media/2026/www.pbrc.edu
Image Credits: Madison Page/PBRC
Keywords: Female sex hormones, aging, menopause, nutrition, skeletal muscle, metabolic health, women’s health, endocrinology, lifestyle interventions, muscle maintenance, sex differences, biomedical research
