Environment and Nutrition
Beginning at conception, environmental factors in health can accumulate over a lifetime and be from sources as broad as geographic location and economic status to specific external sources including physical activity, occupation, risky behaviors and diet. But some of these factors, especially in terms of diet are highly modifiable.
Important research is now being conducted on this concept of the “exposome,” as an environmental complement to the human genome. NRI researchers are learning how diet and other environmental exposures interact with disease and affect responses to treatment.
Publications
Environment and Nutrition Publications
2020
Precision (Personalized) Nutrition: Understanding Metabolic Heterogeneity. Zeisel S
Perspective: Dietary Biomarkers of Intake and Exposure-Exploration with Omics Approaches. Zeisel S
2019
Obesity and Cancer Metabolism: A Perspective on Interacting Tumor-Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors. Hursting S
When less may be more: calorie restriction and response to cancer therapy. Hursting S
Energy balance and obesity: what are the main drivers? Hursting S
Metabolic Reprogramming by Folate Restriction Leads to a Less Aggressive Cancer Phenotype. Krupenko S
Early-Life Predictors of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. May P
Alcohol’s Dysregulation of Maternal-Fetal IL-6 and p-STAT3 Is a Function of Maternal Iron Status. Smith S
2018
Energy balance and gastrointestinal cancer: risk, interventions, outcomes and mechanisms. Hursting S
Research Strategies for Nutritional and Physical Activity Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention. Hursting S
2017
Metabolic Reprogramming by Folate Restriction Leads to a Less Aggressive Cancer Phenotype. Krupenko S
Contribution of Dietary Supplements to Nutritional Adequacy in Various Adult Age Groups. Zeisel S
2016
CerS6 Is a Novel Transcriptional Target of p53 Protein Activated by Non-genotoxic Stress. Krupenko N
Abnormal Eating Behaviors Are Common in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Smith S
Impact of a western diet on the ovarian and serum metabolome. Sumner S
Metabolomics enables precision medicine: “A White Paper, Community Perspective”. Sumner S
Related News
NRI seeks volunteers to help make research discoveries
June 3, 2019 -The UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) in Kannapolis, North Carolina is looking for volunteers to help move science forward. The NRI’s mission is to advance the field of precision nutrition by investigating how genetics, gut microbiota, and environment affect an individual’s requirements for and responses to nutrients. To that end, several NRI principal investigators are currently recruiting participants for their clinical studies.
Chinese herb may be a natural method of treating diabetes
May 31, 2019 – The traditional Chinese herb Lycii Cortex (LyC), with its powerful compound kukoamine B, could be an effective nutraceutical choice for lowering blood glucose when used alone or in combination with low doses of first-line diabetes medications.
The DNA Diet: How knowing your genes can help you fit into your jeans
May 28, 2019 – Most people have this basic understanding of genetics: You inherit genes from your parents, and their DNA combines to create your unique genetic makeup. This can include more obvious traits such as eye color and height but also more complex traits that may involve multiple genes, such as risk of diseases including diabetes, heart disease, obesity and cancer, as well as all aspects of metabolism.
Zeisel receives AICR’s Distinguished Service Award
May 20, 2019 – Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and director of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis, N.C., was awarded the American Institute for Cancer Research’s (AICR) Distinguished Service Award at the institute’s annual meeting May 16, 2019.
Sign-up for an NRI Summer Tour
May 20, 2019 – See where and learn how scientific discovery takes place by touring two facilities on the NC Research Campus in Kannapolis: the UNC Nutrition Research Institute and the NCSU Plants for Human Health Institute. Register today!
Studies Explore Mechanisms Behind Obesity-Cancer Link
May 20, 2019 – Research findings presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019 explore possible reasons for obesity-related resistance to breast cancer treatment and possible strategies to overcome obesity-related immune suppression in cancer.