08 Jun 2023

Elevating Human Nutrition and Microbiome Practice

How human nutrition research can advance equitable health and microbiome care.

Human nutrition research and practice provides a unique opportunity to provide equitable health and microbiome care, to engage with various communities, and to foster interdisciplinary research and educational programs. Given the complexity and nuance of evidence-based nutrition delivery, the guiding ideas of MSE can provide a conceptual structure. This session will present research and case studies which create a professional development framework, such that attendees can envision and learn to apply the framework to their own project / professional development.

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Speakers

Dr. Babajide Ojo (Jide), PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Stanford University. His research focuses on how whole foods impact the gut microbiome and investigates patient-derived colon organoids in pediatric ulcerative colitis, aiming to understand the role of nutrition and microbes in intestinal stem cell health.

Dr. Saria Lofton, PhD, RN, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing, specializing in health disparities research. Committed to health promotion in the Black community, she employs community-based participatory research to identify local assets and build capacity. Her recent work focuses on local food environments and their impact on chronic disease risk among Black American youth and adults. Dr. Lofton aims to develop a multi-level intervention to address food insecurity and increase fruit and vegetable intake in predominantly Black communities.

Dr. Annabel Biruete, PhD, RD, is an Assistant Professor and Registered Dietitian in the Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University, as well as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Nephrology at Indiana University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the effects of nutritional and pharmacological therapies for chronic kidney disease on the gastrointestinal tract and gut microbiome. She also aims to improve outcomes for Hispanic/LatinX communities with chronic kidney disease through culturally relevant lifestyle interventions.