Importance of Ratio in Essential Fatty Acids

March 1, 2017 • While omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies have been clearly linked to memory and learning problems in rodent models, studies involving dietary supplementation have produced mixed results. A contributing factor could be that the ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the diet is a more important marker than omega-3 fatty acid intake alone. This hypothesis is based on the fact that these fatty acids share metabolic pathways, and on the assumption that […]

Breast Cancer Subtype Important in Deciding Impact of Folate

Breast Cancer Subtype Important in Deciding Impact of Folate

February 1, 2017 • It is generally known that folate (vitamin B9) is important in early pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects in babies, because folate is needed by rapidly dividing cells (e.g., those of a developing embryo) for DNA synthesis and cellular energy production. As a consequence, many processed foods in the United States are fortified with […]

One Scientist's 40-Year Journey to the First NIH-Endorsed FASD Diagnostic Criteria

January 1, 2017 • After almost 40 years of research, Philip May, PhD, a leading expert in the field of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), and his team have published their fifth study on FASD in a South African community. Equally as monumental is the recent endorsement by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), of the FASD diagnostic guidelines that were developed by May’s research team […]

What We're Learning about Mom's Nutrition and Alcohol

January 1, 2017 • Dr. Phil May’s research group at the NRI studies the prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in humans. The recent addition to the NRI faculty of Dr. Susan Smith now provides an avenue toward understanding how maternal nutrition might affect the relationship between alcohol and FASD through the use of animal models. Two recent papers from these research groups illustrates this synergy […]

Renowned Scientist Joins Nutrition Research Institute

November 30, 2016 • Susan Sumner, PhD joins the UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) on December 1, 2016, as a Professor of metabolomicsNutrition. Dr. Sumner is working to make personalized medicine a reality through metabolomics. Metabolomics involves measuring thousands of metabolites in cells, tissues, and biological fluids.