To understand how nutrition affects health, we must understand everything from biological mechanisms in the body to how cultural and political factors shape food systems.

CORA investigators study every aspect of human nutrition in diverse settings. This includes laboratory research that studies the biological links between dietary patterns and disease, as well as intervention studies that evaluate programs and policies to promote healthier diets. Our Nutrition faculty include many leading experts who have served on national and international committees and panels to guide dietary recommendations.

Many of the projects below are based at the UW Center for Public Health Nutrition and include partners throughout Seattle and other countries.

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PROJECTS

Concepts and Methods for Food Environment Research in Low and Middle Income Countries - The food environment has been studied extensively in high-income countries, but less in low- and middle-income countries, where food systems face different issues. Drs. Anju Aggarwal and Adam Drewnwoski collaborate with researchers abroad to study how the food environment in low- and middle-income countries mediates the acquisition of foods within the wider food system.

Eating frequency and its influence on satiety and biomarkers of health & disease - American diets have shifted from eating 3 large meals per day to a larger number of eating occasions throughout the day, but experts don't know how this shift affects health. Dr. Marian Neuhouser and colleagues designed this clinical trial to study how high-frequency eating patterns affect biomarkers of inflammation and self-reported measures of appetite.

Human and Bacterial Molecular Pathways in Cancer Risk: Modulation By Diet - Experimental nutrition often focuses on specific nutrients, rather than dietary patterns that characterize how humans eat. This feeding study led by Dr. Johanna Lampe instead compares the effects of two distinct dietary patterns on protein biomarkers of regulatory pathways that are important in cancer susceptibility. It particularly focuses on how dietary patterns affect the gut microbiome and plasma metabolome.

The Impact of Low-fat and Full-fat Dairy Consumption on Glucose Homeostasis (DAIRY Study) - The causal link between dairy products and type 2 diabetes is controversial and mechanisms are not understood. Dr. Mario Kratz designed DAIRY, a parallel-design randomized controlled trial, to study whether dairy consumption improves glucose homeostasis, and the mechanisms by which dairy-rich diets may affect glucose tolerance and its determinants.

King County Sodium Reduction Partnership - This CDC-funded, 5-year collaborative project implements lasting and sustainable sodium reduction efforts in the food and meals provided in 2 venues: high-need school districts and the emergency food system. The research teams at Public Health - Seattle & King County and the Center for Public Health Nutrition partner with community stakeholders to determine viable and sustainable options for reducing sodium in these venues. 

Nutrition and Physical Activity Assessment Study (NPAAS) - One of the biggest challenges of nutrition research is accurately measuring what people eat and drink. In an effort to improve measures of nutrition, this study led by Dr. Marian Neuhouser uses metabolomics profiling of blood and urine as markers of diet and examines their association with cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes in postmenopausal women.

 

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Ginos BNR, Navarro SL, Schwarz Y, Gu H, Wang D, Randolph TW, Shojaie A, Hullar MAJ, Lampe PD, Kratz M, Neuhouser ML, Raftery D, Lampe JW. Circulating bile acids in healthy adults respond differently to a dietary pattern characterized by whole grains, legumes and fruits and vegetables compared to a diet high in refined grains and added sugars: A randomized, controlled, crossover feeding study. Metabolism. 2018;83:197-204.

Mendoza JA, Haaland W, D'Agostino RB, Martini L, Pihoker C, Frongillo EA, Mayer-Davis EJ, Liu LL, Dabelea D, Lawrence JM, Liese AD. Food insecurity is associated with high risk glycemic control and higher health care utilization among youth and young adults with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2018;138:128-137.

Drewnowski A; Ecosystem Inception Team. The Chicago Consensus on Sustainable Food Systems Science. Front Nutr. 2018;4:74.

Auerbach BJ, Dibey S, Vallila-Buchman P, Kratz M, Krieger J. Review of 100% Fruit Juice and Chronic Health Conditions: Implications for Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Policy. Adv Nutr. 2018;9:78-85.

Barrington WE, Beresford SAA. Applying Multiple Statistical Methods to Derive an Index of Dietary Behaviors Most Related to Obesity. Am J Epidemiol (in press).

Drewnowski A. Measures and metrics of sustainable diets with a focus on milk, yogurt, and dairy products. Nutr Rev. 2018;76:21-28. 

Drewnowski A. Nutrient density: addressing the challenge of obesityBr J Nutr, 2017; 30:1-7.

Rehm CD, Drewnowski A. Replacing American Breakfast Foods with Ready-To-Eat (RTE) Cereals Increases Consumption of Key Food Groups and Nutrients among US Children and Adults: Results of an NHANES Modeling Study. Nutrients, 2017;9:1010.

Fleischhacker SE, Ballard RM, Starke-Reed PE, Galuska DA, Neuhouser ML. Developmental Process and Early Phases of Implementation for the US Interagency Committee on Human Nutrition Research National Nutrition Research Roadmap 2016-2021. J Nutr, 2017

Getts KM, Quinn EL, Johnson DB, Otten JJ. Validity and Interrater Reliability of the Visual Quarter-Waste Method for Assessing Food Waste in Middle School and High School Cafeteria Settings. J Acad Nutr Diet, 2017 (in press).

Drewnowski A. Uses of nutrient profiling to address public health needs: from regulation to reformulationProc Nutr Soc, 2017; Jun 9:1-10.

Beheshti R, Jones-Smith JC, Igusa T. Taking dietary habits into account: A computational method for modeling food choices that goes beyond price. PLoS One. 2017 May 25;12(5):e0178348.

Prentice RL, Aragaki AK, Van Horn L, Thomson CA, Beresford SA, Robinson J, Snetselaar L, Anderson GL, Manson JE, Allison MA, Rossouw JE, Howard BV. Low-fat dietary pattern and cardiovascular disease: results from the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr, 2017; 106:35-43.

Song X, Huang Y, Neuhouser ML, Tinker LF, Vitolins MZ, Prentice RL, Lampe JW. Dietary long-chain fatty acids and carbohydrate biomarker evaluation in a controlled feeding study in participants from the Women's Health Initiative cohort. Am J Clin Nutr, 2017; 105:1272-1282.

Tiwari A, Aggarwal A, Tang W, Drewnowski A. Cooking at Home: A Strategy to Comply With U.S. Dietary Guidelines at No Extra Cost. Am J Prev Med, 2017;52:616-624.

Lampe JW, Huang Y, Neuhouser ML, Tinker LF, Song X, Schoeller DA, Kim S, Raftery D, Di C, Zheng C, Schwarz Y, Van Horn L, Thomson CA, Mossavar-Rahmani Y, Beresford SA, Prentice RL. Dietary biomarker evaluation in a controlled feeding study in women from the Women's Health Initiative cohort. Am J Clin Nutr, 2017; 105:466-475.

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