WHAT WE DO Callitrichid Research Center Clinical & Health ...
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WHO WE ARE The Nebraska Food for Health Center (NFHC) is an interdisciplinary effort to understand how food can be used to influence gut microbes in human and animal health. The Center is comprised of food scientists, microbiologists, plant scientists, immunologists, geneticists, statisticians and nutritionists. Their diverse expertise provides insight/results around a connection between microbiome and disease predisposition. The Nebraska Food for Health team includes faculty from the University of Nebraska– Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha, and University of Nebraska Medical Center. WHAT WE DO NFHC is making a global impact everyday. Through education and research, the center primarily focuses on: • Increasing our understanding of how the gut microbiome processes fiber and other complex components of whole grains. • Incorporating human health traits into breeding and improvement programs for food crops. • Discovering raw/whole foods, creating processed foods, and developing synbiotics and drugs that have clinically proven effects on the microbiome. • Improving human health through dietary components that reduce disease risk by their beneficial effects on the gut microbiome. • Training a new generation of interdisciplinary microbiome-related experts for careers as researchers, food and health industry leaders, and food innovation entrepreneurs. HOW WE DO IT The Center is made up of five key programs and initiatives that focus on how to leverage food processing to do food production to prevent and treat disease. • Diversity – An interdisciplinary group of researchers that links different aspects of crop and food production with their effects on the gut microbiome and health/wellness. This group identifies components of whole grains and downstream food processing methodologies that affect the gut microbiome, and then uses crop breeding and improvement programs as well as food processing strategies to optimize the effects of food on the gut microbiome and health/ wellness of the population. The ultimate goal is to reduce the risk of diseases. • Gnotobiotic Program – The program utilizes the Gnotobiotic Facility to study diet, microbiome, immunity, and health using a germ-free mouse model. Plant/Animal Breeding/Genetics Production Agriculture Foods that improve people’s health and quality of life. Gastrointestinal and Biomedical Research • Callitrichid Research Center – As of part of UNO, the center provides a transitional primate model for studying the microbiome. This non-invasive model provides pre-clinical validation of research on diet-microbiome interactions and also enables exploration of the diet-microbiome-brain-behavior axis as well as examining other various health related endpoints. • Clinical & Health Program – Facilitates clinical study of diet-microbiome interactions and how they affect people’s wellness and disease susceptibility. Allows researchers to establish efficacy of specific food components in promoting wellness, disease prevention, and disease intervention. • NFHC Fellows Program – This graduate training program supports students interested in interdisciplinary study at the interfaces of human health, medical biochemistry, plant phonemics, and host-microbial metagenomics. Fellows are permitted a full year of research rotations between any of our current 20+ NFHC researchers on three different campuses in order to identify best fit for interests and training opportunity.
Transcript of WHAT WE DO Callitrichid Research Center Clinical & Health ...
WHO WE AREThe Nebraska Food for Health Center (NFHC) is an interdisciplinary effort to understand how food can be used to influence gut microbes in human and animal health. The Center is comprised of food scientists, microbiologists, plant scientists, immunologists, geneticists, statisticians and nutritionists. Their diverse expertise provides insight/results around a connection between microbiome and disease predisposition.
The Nebraska Food for Health team includes faculty from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha, and University of Nebraska Medical Center.
WHAT WE DONFHC is making a global impact everyday. Through education and research, the center primarily focuses on:
• Increasing our understanding of how thegut microbiome processes fiber and othercomplex components of whole grains.
• Incorporating human health traits intobreeding and improvement programs forfood crops.
• Discovering raw/whole foods, creatingprocessed foods, and developing synbioticsand drugs that have clinically proven effectson the microbiome.
• Improving human health through dietarycomponents that reduce disease risk by theirbeneficial effects on the gut microbiome.
• Training a new generation of interdisciplinarymicrobiome-related experts for careersas researchers, food and health industryleaders, and food innovation entrepreneurs.
HOW WE DO IT
The Center is made up of five key programs and initiatives that focus on how to leverage food processing to do food production to prevent and treat disease.
• Diversity – An interdisciplinary group ofresearchers that links different aspects of cropand food production with their effects on thegut microbiome and health/wellness. This groupidentifies components of whole grains anddownstream food processing methodologies thataffect the gut microbiome, and then uses cropbreeding and improvement programs as well asfood processing strategies to optimize the effectsof food on the gut microbiome and health/wellness of the population. The ultimate goal is toreduce the risk of diseases.
• Gnotobiotic Program – The program utilizesthe Gnotobiotic Facility to study diet,microbiome, immunity, and health using agerm-free mouse model.
Plant/Animal Breeding/Genetics
ProductionAgriculture
Foods that improve people’s health and
quality of life.
Gastrointestinal and
Biomedical Research
• Callitrichid Research Center – As of partof UNO, the center provides a transitionalprimate model for studying themicrobiome. This non-invasive modelprovides pre-clinical validation ofresearch on diet-microbiome interactionsand also enables exploration of thediet-microbiome-brain-behavior axis aswell as examining other various healthrelated endpoints.
• Clinical & Health Program – Facilitatesclinical study of diet-microbiomeinteractions and how they affect people’swellness and disease susceptibility.Allows researchers to establishefficacy of specific food componentsin promoting wellness, diseaseprevention, and disease intervention.
• NFHC Fellows Program – This graduatetraining program supports studentsinterested in interdisciplinary study atthe interfaces of human health, medicalbiochemistry, plant phonemics, andhost-microbial metagenomics. Fellowsare permitted a full year of researchrotations between any of our current20+ NFHC researchers on three differentcampuses in order to identify best fitfor interests and training opportunity.
Nebraska Food for Health CenterNebraska Innovation Campus1901 N 21st StLincoln, NE 68508402-472-1862
foodforhealth.unl.edu
WHY WE DO ITThe mission of NFHC is to improve human health by linking agriculture and food production to wellness and disease prevention through microbiome research.
The long-term impacts of the research between agriculture and medicine holds the potential to solve and prevent some of the most important health challenges we face.
Interested in donating or visiting Nebraska Food for Health Center?
Josh Egley Sr. Director of Development - IANRUniversity of Nebraska Foundation1010 Lincoln Mall, Suite 300Lincoln, NE 68508402-458-1202402-314-4633 [email protected]
FOOD HEALTHFOR
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIESThe NU Foundation has established the Nebraska Food for Health Excellence Fund which allows the Director to fund the most pressing needs including vital pilot studies. Any gift amount would be appreciated.
Gifts can also be made for specific endowments which provide the Center with the ability to recruit and retain the brightest individuals and assuring the longevity of the Center.
Endowed gifts include:
• NFHC Graduate Fellowships $4 M• Primate Biologist at UNO $1 M• Discovery Research Assistant $1 M• Gnotobiotic Research Professor $1 M• Clinical Facility $2 M
• NFHC Presidential Chair $2 M
“This critical effort will further define Nebraska as an agricultural leader while bringing together for the first time agricultural production, food processing and medical research to improve the health of people in this country and around the world.”-Jeffery Raikes
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