Bionutrition
The Bionutrition Core is committed to reducing health disparities in at risk ethnic minority populations and the underserved through the pursuit of excellence in nutrition research in both clinical and community settings.
The Bionutrition Core supports the Morehouse School of Medicine mission to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities with emphasis on people of color and the underserved. The core is committed to increasing the diversity of nutrition professionals in healthcare and science through the promotion of nutrition education, leadership, and research necessary to understand and address the unequal burden of health disparities in ethnic minorities.
Bionutritional Aims
Support investigators conducting nutrition interventions by providing assistance with study development; assessment of dietary intake, body composition, and energy expenditure; menus for dietary intervention studies; resources for study implementation and compliance monitoring; dietary data analysis and management of core generated data
Increase the number of investigators conducting nutrition research at MSM
Provide a training environment to foster an increase in leadership in nutrition research from diverse populations
Collaborate with investigators seeking to conduct diet and lifestyle modification interventions to prevent obesity, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease
Cultivate nutrition research to identify the molecular action of bioactive food components and their use in prevention of disease in minorities and the underserved through applications in epigenetics, nutrigenomics and metabolomics
Promote global nutrition research studies and collaborations that focus on identification of dietary risk factors for disease development in migrant ethnic minorities transitioning to the US
Bionutritional Gallery
Bionutritional Services
The Bionutrition Core is comprised of a Metabolic Research Kitchen and Body Composition Lab and provides the following services:
Dietary Assessments using food records, food frequency questionnaires, 24-hour dietary recalls, mobile apps, and chemical analysis
Body Composition Assessments performed utilizing Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scans, anthropometry (skinfolds/circumferences), and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)
Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) calculations determined via Indirect Calorimetry
Research Diet Design and Meal Production for Dietary Intervention Studies
Training for MSM Medical Students, Public Health Students, and Dietetic Interns
Protocol Development, Study Coordinator Cross-Training, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Development
Dietary Data Analysis and Management using Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) software
Bionutritional Team
Carla J. Moore, PhD, MPH, RDN, LD
Bionutrition Core Manager
Shanell Robinson
Research Diet Technician