Boston, USA
June 9, 2018 – June 12, 2018

Finalists Announced for the NUTRITION 2018 Dietary Bioactives Research Design Challenge

ResearchDesignChallenge

Non-essential bioactive dietary components hold promise for helping maintain optimal health and reducing risk of chronic disease, yet most efficacy studies are not sufficiently designed or powered to measure their safety. In the IAFNS Research Design Challenge at NUTRITION 2018, interdisciplinary teams pitched novel research designs that integrate safety measures and primary efficacy measures into a single study. Data obtained from such studies will improve the confidence of regulatory bodies with product oversight and health professionals providing advice to the general public.

Research Design Challenge Objective: Demonstrate proof of principle for novel research designs to integrate more safety measures in research with the primary purpose of testing efficacy of dietary bioactives.

Congratulations to the finalists of the IAFNS NUTRITION 2018 Research Design Challenge:

First Place:

Team Rutgers, led by Alexandra Kreitman, Department of Nutritional Sciences
“Measuring Safety and Efficacy of a Health Promoting Dietary Component: Monitoring GI Side Effects of a Putative α-Glucosidase Inhibitor.”

Second Place: 

Team University of Alabama, Birmingham, led by Yuanyuan Rose Li, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
“An Effective Method to Balance Efficacy and Safety Test for Bioactive Soybean Isoflavone-Enhanced Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients.”

Acknowledgements:

This challenge session was supported by the IAFNS Bioactive Committee.

Design challenge judges were Paul Coates, Office of Dietary Supplements; James Coughlin, Coughlin & Associates; and Christina Khoo, Ocean Spray Cranberries. Research teams were mentored by Jiang Hu, Herbalife; and Tia Rains, Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc.