Posted by Rita Mu
Nestlé has partnered with a UK university to investigate how changes to diet and exercise may affect human gene expression and health over time – an area also known as nutrigenomics.
The six-month research project between the Nestlé Research Centre in Switzerland and King’s College London is set to begin later this year.
According to Nestlé, details of the research project will include looking at how our genes and their encoded proteins determine bodily functions, such as metabolism and immunity.
King’s College Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics academic, Dr Franca Fraternali, and colleagues, will have access to the Nestlé Research Centre’s bioinformatics facilities in Lausanne, Switzerland, while Senior Scientist, Dr James Holzwarth, of the Nestlé Research Centre, will spend time in the King’s College laboratories learning new techniques used to analyse protein-protein interactions developed at the university.
Dr Holzwarth said academia-industry partnerships were critical for innovations in the food and public health sectors.
“No one can work in isolation. Industry might be more advanced in one area, while academia might be more advanced in another. By pooling relevant resources, we can help to guide each other’s work,” he said.
The partnership is funded by the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Interchange program.
Image: A scientist at work at the Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, Source: nestle.com