UNC nutrition experts uncover structure of enzyme that could aid in disease treatment, prevention
This article was published originally by the Gillings School of Global Public Health on January 25, 2022. New findings from researchers at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) have revealed the structure of an enzyme that plays a key role in predicting whether a...
Keep the Fireworks Going: NRI Student Success is Explosive!
This summer, NRI students continue to shine bright and have been recognized for their endeavors both on the University level and nationally! Congratulations to Halle Fogle, an incoming graduate student in the Sergey Krupenko Lab. Halle recently received a UNC Gillings...
NIH Grant To Study Gene Mutation Associated with Rare Disease
March 22, 2019 – Sergey A. Krupenko, PhD, professor of nutrition at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI), has been awarded a $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for his research project, “Regulation of Mitochondrial Function by 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 […]
The Folic Acid Dilemma
April 1, 2015 • In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made it mandatory to add folic acid (FA) to grain products used to make cereal, bread, pasta and other foods. The ruling, which was intended to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs) – see Sidebar – has been very successful: The incidence of NTDs fell 36% over the following decade.
The FDA’s ruling was unique because the target population (women of child-bearing age) is much smaller than the population affected (anyone eating fortified foods), especially now that so many countries around the world add FA to wheat, corn, and rice. Luckily, studies around the globe prove that FA benefits the general population by lowering the incidence of heart disease, stroke, and even mood disorders…which is why FA is also present in multivitamin supplements.