Centres of Research Excellence Fund

2006 Expressions of Interest

New Zealand Centre for Targeted Nutrition and Health

Director:  Prof. Lynnette R. Ferguson
Host:        The University of Auckland

Partners:   AgResearch Limited
                 HortResearch Limited
                 University of Otago

Abstract:

The dilemma for nutrition research is to focus on health, without the prerequisite tools to describe this adequately. The challenge is to quantify relevant molecular changes among the noise of healthy variation. Functional foods are the most rapidly growing international markets, reflecting consumer preference for dietary rather than pharmaceutical intervention to sustain health. However:

• Unlike pharmaceuticals, food contains multiple bioactives, usually with low receptor affinities. Consequently, weak or even conflicting biological effects are observed.
• Eating a single food for a demonstrable physiological effect is unsustainable.
• Genetic and epigenetic variability means that dietary advice for one individual may be inappropriate for another.
• Nutritional intervention studies are typically underpowered, with endpoints appropriate to disease, not health.

A systems biology approach will enable a new paradigm for designing health-promoting whole diets, rather than the current doctrine of individual foods supported by health claims that target specific groups of the population.

Selected areas of study will be consumer informed, but focus on areas important in infant and child health, maintenance of optimal function in the elderly, and improved health in Maori/Pacific populations. Combinations of foods and nutrients will be developed through iterative procedures and based on current science. Multiple whole organism models will provide preliminary evidence of nutritional interactions with genetic, epigenetic and physiological mechanisms relevant to modifying behaviour, learning and memory, immune response and gut health. Human populations will be stratified according to genotype, and response quantified through surrogate markers in available tissues, or behavioural changes. The will be underpinned by strong statistics bioinformatics, including databases shared across participating organisations. This new paradigm for nutrition will involve internationally-recognised expertise from across the country and is potentially marketable as a "New Zealand Inc” product. There will also be a strong element of research-driven teaching, education and outreach.