Grant Opportunities

At the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences research serves as the foundation for our actions. See our current grant opportunities below.

Current Opportunities:

Omega 3 in Young Adults Eating Plant-Based Diets

Advancing Research that Supports ‘Gut Health’: Documenting the Continuum of Measures from Health to Disease

The IAFNS Nutrition for Gut Health Committee advances the scientific understanding of the impact of diet and dietary constituents on gut and host health. Although it is implied that ‘gut health’ lies somewhere along the continuum of various relevant measures, there is currently no generally accepted definition of gut health. One step toward arriving at agreement on the concept of ‘gut health’ is better understanding available measures and their interpretation. By clarifying this concept, it may be possible to identify interventions (foods, diets, supplements) that promote gut health.

IAFNS Graduate Student and Post-Doc Stipends for Research Using the Comprehensive Fiber Database

The IAFNS Carbohydrates Committee is pleased to announce it is accepting applications for the above project.

Publication and travel stipends are available on an ad hoc basis for graduate students and post-docs who complete research based primarily on the Comprehensive Fiber Database developed and maintained by Tufts University with funding from IAFNS.

The database: https://iafns.org/our-work/research-tools-open-data/dietary-fiber-database/

Supported projects may include evidence reviews of fiber and health outcomes and knowledge or gaps analysis of a specific area of fiber as it relates to human health. Other uses may also be considered as long as the database is a primary tool used in conduct and analysis.

Travel Awards: Up to 2 travel awards may be granted annually to reimburse up to US $1,000 each to cover meeting registration or travel for a graduate student or post-doc to present in an oral or poster presentation a project in which the Comprehensive Fiber Database serves as the basis for analysis.

Publications: Awards will be granted on an ad hoc basis up to US $4,000 in the form of reimbursed fees for free access to a peer-reviewed paper accepted for publication by a student currently enrolled in a nutrition or food science graduate program. The same would apply to a post-doc in food science or nutrition who is the first author on a paper for which the Fiber Database is a primary tool for analysis.

Details and full instructions can be found in this form.

Please submit proposals at your convenience. Applications will be reviewed every 8 weeks. For further questions please contact blyle@iafns.org.

Scientific integrity is a core value of IAFNS. Learn how we embed scientific integrity into every step of our research process.

View Current Areas of Work

Learn How We Work

Projects Funded by IAFNS:

IAFNS's mission is to advance food safety and nutrition science for the benefit of public health. View projects funded by IAFNS below, and learn how we embed scientific integrity into every step of our research process.

The Scientific Basis of Communicating Carbohydrate Quality

A workshop was convened jointly with Diabetes Canada to advance the dialogue between scientists and regulatory experts on science-based indices that can be used in communicating physiologic effects of carbohydrates in foods. Experts agreed that the carbohydrate quality of a food would take into account multiple factors, including whole food credentials, the glycemic response to […]

Standing Committee on Bioactive Recommendations

Growing evidence suggests that lutein for vision and flavan-3-ols for cardiovascular disease could be candidates for quantified recommended intakes. In 2014, Elwood et al. pointed out the challenges and suggested that a framework be developed to recommend bioactive intakes not currently covered by approaches used to establish nutrient intakes to prevent deficiencies. A standing committee […]

Beverage Caffeine Intake Study

A large variety of new caffeinated beverage products have entered the market in recent years, including new types of energy drinks, cold brew and ready-to-drink specialty coffees and teas, and caffeinated waters and sports drinks. With shifts towards remote work and learning, online food and grocery ordering, and rapid pickup and delivery options for consumers, […]

Recommending a quantified intake of flavan-3-ols promote heart health

Dietary bioactives are food substances that promote health but lack quantified intake recommendations because they are not characterized as essential to prevent well defined deficiency conditions. This project translates evidence from a comprehensive systematic evidence review by Raman et al. using the AND guideline development process and applying a recently released (ASN endorsed) framework for […]

Identify Safety Barriers to Broad Adoption of Recycled Polyolefins for Food Packaging

Defining a path to the production of clean recycled plastics is key to their sustainable use in food and beverage packaging. Despite significant advances in recycling science, obstacles remain to broad utilization of recycled plastics including the need for reliable and predictable sources of safe and inexpensive post-consumer products. This project will identify key elements […]

Updating USDA Food Composition Databases with Common Data Elements on Flavonoids

Metabolic and Physiological Effects of Added Fibers for Children Across the Age Spectrum

Fibers added to foods may provide specific health benefits, but these relationships would benefit from research specifically on children rather than extrapolated from adults. This project will prioritize research needed to understand the relationship between fibers added to foods and support specific health outcomes at varying stages from young children through teens. The long term […]

Addressing Perceptions of Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners in the Healthcare Practitioner Community

Misperceptions are not new about low-and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCSs) within the healthcare practitioner (HCP) community and among consumers. Some confusion can be attributed to the mixed literature on LNCSs that results from variation in study hypotheses, design, interpretation and communication. Understanding HCP perspectives on LNCSs supports science-based information delivery to patients and clients. The first […]

Advancing Exposure Assessment for Food Contaminants Through Implementation of Probabilistic Modeling

Risk assessments for foods, ingredients and additives have evolved over the past few decades to incorporate new techniques such as benchmark dose modeling, and to further develop the utility of tools such as the threshold of toxicological concern, and even to explore advancements in carcinogen risk assessment. However, exposure assessments still tend to rely on […]

Evidence Map on the Relationship Between Exposure to Dietary Sweetness and Body Weight-Related Outcomes in Adults

Dietary recommendations from numerous governmental and health organizations recommend reduced intake of added sugars due to the health risks, including the risk of overweight and obesity. Some recommendations include avoiding dietary sweetness – regardless of the source – based on the hypothesis that reduced exposure to dietary sweetness will reduce the preference and desire for […]

Cardiometabolic Effects of Low Carbohydrate/ Healthy Fat Diets

Despite robust research on the implications of modifying the fat content and composition of the diet on health, this has not been systematically studied in those following various low carbohydrate diets. Recommendations for lower carbohydrate diets should be clear about how to make food substitution choices that promote overall health. Institution: Tufts UniversityPrincipal Investigator: Paul […]

Simulating Powdered Product Sampling to Improve Food Safety Sampling Plans

Drawing accurate conclusions about whether an ingredient or finished product is safe based on the results of a test is important to the evaluation and management of food safety risk. With the expected prevalence of contamination in today’s food system at less than 1%, extremely large samples sizes are required to reliably detect contamination, and […]

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