Leptin’s Role in Cancer Susceptibility
August 30, 2019 – While the link between obesity and breast cancer risk is well known, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Obesity alters many conditions in cells and within the body, and it is not easy to determine which of these conditions are important to the obesity-cancer link. Consequently, it is very difficult to identify potential therapeutic targets. The lab of Stephen Hursting, PhD, MPH, at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute has put considerable effort into understanding the association between obesity and breast cancer risk and mortality . Read more.
Cheatham Lab Seeks Participants to Test Props Used in Cognition Studies
August 30, 2019 – The Cheatham Nutrition & Cognition Lab at the NRI is undertaking a new pilot study with 12- and 24-month-old children called the Memory Game Pilot Study. In this study the lab seeks to validate the props used in the elicited imitation paradigm, a nonverbal means of assessing recall memory in preverbal children. The props, which have been designed and produced in the Cheatham lab, will be implemented with a group of young children of the same ages in an already-planned, collaborative study with Emory University. Read more.
September Faculty Focus: Natalia Krupenko, PhD
August 28, 2019 – Bold Questions, Breakthrough Answers. For some, it would be difficult to leave the idyllic coastal city of Charleston, South Carolina behind for small town life in Kannapolis, North Carolina. That wasn’t the case for Natalia Krupenko, PhD. As she interviewed to join the faculty of the Nutrition Research Institute, she was often asked what her motivation for the move was. From her perspective, it was simple. “I said, of course, for work. Of course, for work. The work is fantastic here.” Read more.
Kohlmeier Co-edits Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics Textbook
August 20, 2019 – Principles of Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics: Fundamentals for Individualized Nutrition is the most comprehensive foundational text on the complex topics of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics. Edited by three leaders in the field with contributions from the most well-cited researchers conducting groundbreaking research in the field, the book covers how the genetic makeup influences the response to foods and nutrients and how nutrients affect gene expression. Read more.
One Size Won’t Fit All
August 20, 2019 – Nearly 35 percent of Americans are considered obese — a diagnosis that has become so common the American Medical Association recognizes it as a chronic disease. While the diagnosis is the same for all, the treatments vary; what works for one person typically doesn’t work for another. In response, researchers from across UNC have joined forces to tackle this ever-growing problem. Read more.
