Trinity College R15 Award Tests Whether Adenosine Links Ketogenic Diet to Social Behavior

Trinity College reported on October 12, 2026 that two of its faculty members have received a three-year R15 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH): Susan A. Masino, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Applied Science, and David N. Ruskin, research associate professor ^[1]. The $576,722 award funds a project titled Metabolic therapy to modulate aggression and sociability ^[1]. It also supports summer research positions for two students in each year of the grant ^[1].

What the project proposes

A ketogenic diet is high in fat and low in carbohydrate, which forces a shift from glucose-based to ketone body-based metabolism ^[1]. The project summary describes the diet as an established metabolic therapy for seizures that is under active investigation for its effects on voluntary behaviors, including social behaviors ^[1]. Masino and Ruskin describe adenosine as a powerful antiseizure molecule underlying the diet's therapeutic benefits and other neurological and behavioral effects ^[1]. The story notes that adenosine is known to be anti-inflammatory and that its involvement in the interaction between the diet and social behavior remains unexplored ^[1]. The team's central hypothesis is that "a ketogenic diet will reduce aggression and normalize impaired social behaviors via adenosine receptor activation" ^[1]. The researchers state that, despite evidence for this relationship, the hypothesis has not been tested directly ^[1].

How to read the announcement

The award funds a hypothesis; it does not report a finding ^[1]. The story does not describe the experimental model, sample size, outcome measures or analysis plan, so it provides no study population and no effect sizes ^[1]. A photo caption shows Ruskin working with a student on an experiment investigating how adenosine may affect behavior, without further detail ^[1]. The researchers suggest the work could support a conceptual breakthrough for translational and clinical research, but the announcement contains no results that bear on patient care ^[1].

Why it matters to research administrators

The story lists three goals for the R15 program: supporting meritorious research, exposing students to research, and strengthening the research environment of the institution ^[1]. It identifies the award as an AREA grant, a mechanism that specifically supports research at undergraduate-focused institutions ^[1]. In Trinity's award, student training is part of the funded project, with two summer students supported in each of the three years and faculty planning to integrate students into all aspects of the work ^[1].

The story also describes the investigators' funding record ^[1]. Over the last two decades, Masino and Ruskin have received several grants for work on adenosine, metabolic therapies and the ketogenic diet, including a previous three-year NIH grant and a larger, multi-institutional five-year NIH grant ^[1].

What to watch next

• A direct test of the hypothesis. Because the researchers say the adenosine receptor mechanism has not been tested directly, the main output to watch for is published results on that question ^[1].
• Project design details. The release gives no methods or timeline, so the experimental approach will only become clear as the work is reported ^[1].
• Activity in the wider field. Masino said the field of metabolic therapies, and metabolic psychiatry in particular, has recently grown very rapidly ^[1].

Limitations

This take relies on a single institutional news release ^[1]. That release does not include study methods, a timeline for results or an NIH project record, so the project's scope and design cannot be assessed independently here ^[1]. Any conclusions about effects of the ketogenic diet on behavior depend on the funded work being completed and published ^[1].