Precision Nutrition: Research Gaps and Opportunities Workshop

Event Details

Workshop Executive Summary

Background

The science of precision nutrition is a holistic approach to developing comprehensive and dynamic nutrition recommendations relevant to both individual and population health. It is a framework in research and practice that considers multiple, synergistic levels of influence: dietary habits, genetic background, health status, microbiome, metabolism, food environment, physical activity, socioeconomics, psychosocial characteristics, and environmental exposures.

Objectives

A primary goal of the field of precision nutrition is to optimize metabolic response in individuals or population subgroups through tailored dietary approaches to promote health and prevent and treat disease. Many factors, including all levels of influence mentioned above, affect individuals’ physiologic responses to diet. Precision nutrition science enables individualized dietary recommendations or therapies based on these factors. This workshop will bring together scientists with diverse expertise to explore how best to address these complex factors. It also will focus on diet-related chronic diseases and how artificial intelligence (AI) and deep-learning techniques may be used to generate individualized dietary recommendations and algorithms. Opportunities for research and training of the next generation of future researchers in the field of precision nutrition will be discussed.

Co-Sponsors

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)

Meeting Co-Chairs

José Ordovás, Ph.D., Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
Elizabeth Parks, Ph.D., Institute for Clinical Translational Science, University of Missouri School of Medicine
Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., MBA, City University of New York School of Public Health

Organizing Committee

Josephine Boyington, Ph.D., M.P.H., NHLBI
Andrew Bremer, M.D., Ph.D., Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Allison Brown, Ph.D., NHLBI
Christopher Lynch, Ph.D., ONR
Holly Nicastro, Ph.D., M.P.H., NIDDK
Charlotte Pratt, Ph.D., R.D., NHLBI
Jill Reedy, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Karen Regan, M.S., R.D., NIDDK
Scarlet Shi, Ph.D., NHLBI
Pothur Srinivas, Ph.D., M.P.H., NCI
Ashley Vargas, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D.N., NICHD

Registration Deadline

January 5, 2021

Agenda

January 11, 2021

9:00 a.m. – 9:25 a.m.

Opening Remarks
Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., MACP, Director, NIDDK, NIH
Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., Director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH

Section 1: Precision Nutrition Science in Diet-related Chronic Diseases

Moderator: José Ordovás, Ph.D.

Poor nutrition is a crucial risk factor for a host of chronic diseases and conditions that are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States—including cardiovascular disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancers, and others—with associated health care costs estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Many studies have revealed huge differences in disease risk and biological responses to diet among individuals. Although those differences were initially thought to be driven by genetics, the current findings support the crucial combined roles of genetics, behavioral, sociological, environmental, and economic factors as response modifiers, making it challenging to fully answer the practical question of what to eat to stay healthy, which requires moving beyond a one-size-fits-all dietary recommendation for optimal health and disease prevention. Section 1 of the meeting will have focused discussions on dietary approaches to address the most common chronic diseases in our society and will be followed by panel discussions on critical research questions, gaps, and opportunities in precision nutrition science to address individual variability in dietary patterns across the life span.

9:25 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Moderator Introduction

9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

Cardiovascular Disease
José Ordovás, Ph.D., Jean Mayer U.S. Departure of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University

9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Cognitive Function
Richard Isaacson, M.D., Weill Cornell Medical College

10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Diabetes/Impaired Glucose Regulation
Mary Ann Sevick, Sc.D., New York University Grossman School of Medicine

10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Cancer: Primary and Secondary Prevention
Emily Ho, Ph.D., Oregon State University

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Section 1 Q & A and Panel Discussion: Research Gaps and Opportunities (Live)
Linda Van Horn, Ph.D., RD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Corby Martin, Ph.D., Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Steven Clinton, M.D., Ph.D., The Ohio State University
Paul Franks, Ph.D., Lund University
Simin Nikbin Meydani, Ph.D., D.V.M., Tufts University

11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Break and Poster Session

Section 2: NIH Interest in the Field of Precision Nutrition

11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Planning for Nutrition for Precision Health, Powered by the All of Us Research Program
Holly Nicastro, Ph.D., M.P.H., Office of Nutrition Research, NIDDK, NIH

12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Poster Session, Lunch, and Exercise Break

Section 3, Part 1: Measuring Potential Contributors to Interindividual Variability in Dietary Responses

Moderator: Elizabeth Parks, Ph.D.

Historically, nutrition research investigating a single nutrient at a time has led to significant advancements in understanding the connection between diet and health. However, the variety of dietary patterns and the complexity of foods necessitate the development of new research strategies to understand real-life responses to food intake and how they differ among individuals. Section 3, Part 1, of the meeting will focus on the contribution of habitual nutritional status as a source of variability in research results. Lifestyle and social factors that influence the individual response to nutrients will be presented, including the effects of the immune system and sleep, health disparities, and psychosocial factors. Section 3, Part 2, will cover the impact of variability in taste and smell, environmental exposures, and ways that the technical measurement of response to eating can influence research findings. The new modeling approaches under development offer much promise in the discovery of how these various factors all fit together to result in a person’s unique dietary response.

1:00 p.m. – 1:05 p.m.

Moderator Introduction

1:05 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.

Importance of Examining Nutritional Status as a Source of Interindividual Variability
Marian Neuhouser, Ph.D., RD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

1:20 p.m. – 1:35 p.m.

Immune System Status and Inflammatory Responses to Diet
Helen Roche, Ph.D., University College Dublin, School of Public Health

1:35 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.

Sleep and Chronobiology
Frank Scheer, Ph.D., M.Sc., Brigham and Women’s Hospital

1:50 p.m. – 2:05 p.m.

Nutrition-related Health Disparities, Socioeconomic Influences, and Social Determinants of Health
Josiemer Mattei, Ph.D., M.P.H., Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

2:05 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.

Psychosocial and Cultural Factors Influencing Dietary Intake and Patterns
Cheryl Anderson, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S., University of California, San Diego

2:20 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Section 3, Part 1 Q & A

2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Break and Poster Session

Section 3, Part 2: Measuring Potential Contributors to Interindividual Variability in Dietary Responses

3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Other Environmental Exposures
Albert-László Barabási, Ph.D., Northeastern University Khoury College of Computer Sciences

3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Mixed-meal Challenge Tests, Physiological Measures, and Individual Response to Alcohol
Elizabeth Parks, Ph.D., University of Missouri School of Medicine

3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Sensory Nutrition
Valerie Duffy, Ph.D., RD, University of Connecticut

3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Section 3, Part 2 Q & A and Panel Discussion: Research Gaps and Opportunities
Saroja Voruganti, Ph.D., The University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health
Krista Varady, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago
Erin Hanlon, Ph.D., The University of Chicago
Susan Malone, Ph.D., M.S.N., New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing

5:00 p.m.

Recess

January 12, 2021

9:00 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.

Introduction to Day 2
Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., M.B.A., City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy

Section 4: Training the Next Generation of a Diverse Workforce of Researchers in the Fields of Precision Nutrition and Data Science

Moderator: Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., M.B.A.

9:10 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

Moderator Introduction

9:15 a.m. – 9:35 a.m.

Strategies to Retain Trainees and Hybrid Fields: NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research T32 Training Program
Elizabeth Ginexi, Ph.D., Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, NIH

9:35 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.

Strategies to Retain Trainees and Hybrid Fields
Patricia Mabry, Ph.D., HealthPartners Institute

9:55 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Section 4 Q & A and Panel Discussion, Training Recommendations, and Opportunities
Susan Gregurick, Ph.D., Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS), NIH
Michael Hittle, M.S., Stanford University
Jessica Mazerik, Ph.D., ODSS, NIH
Lorene Nelson, Ph.D., Stanford University
Shurjo Sen, Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute

10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Break and Poster Sessions

Section 5, Part 1: Systems Science, Data Science, and Computational Analytics

Moderator: Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., M.B.A.

The underlying assumption of precision nutrition is that not everyone responds to diet in the same way. Therefore, one of the goals of precision nutrition is to develop predictive algorithms for what individuals should eat to optimize nutritional status or reduce dis-homeostatic excursions in continuous or repeated physio-metabolic measures (glycemia, blood pressure, heart rate variability, cognition or depression scores, wellness scores, plasma or urine measures, etc.) that serve as or could serve as earlier indicators of health problems or chronic disease biomarkers. The goal would be to use other inputs to develop these predictive algorithms based on various other -omic data (microbiome, genetics, metabolomics, etc.) and non-omic data (actual dietary intake information, physical activity, health disparities, electronic health record, culture, gender, geolocation, sociodemographics, and disparities, etc.).

10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Introduction to System Science and Data Analytics
Bruce Lee, M.D., M.B.A.

11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Precision Public Health Nutrition: Addressing the Social-ecological Settings in Which People Access and Consume Food
Kayla de la Haye, Ph.D., Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California

11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Data Analytics and Management: Artificial Intelligence, Such as Machine Learning
Suchi Saria, Ph.D., M.Sc., Johns Hopkins University

11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Data Analytics and Management: Artificial Intelligence is More Than AI
Kristian Hammond, Ph.D., Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering

11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m

Section 5, Part 1 Q & A

12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Poster Session, Lunch, and Exercise Break

Section 5, Part 2: Systems Science, Data Science, and Computational Analytics

1:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Interpretation and Translation
Nico Pronk, Ph.D., M.A., HealthPartners Institute

1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Ethical Artificial Intelligence
Brendan Parent, J.D., New York University Grossman School of Medicine

1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Section 5, Part 2 Q & A and Panel Discussion, Research Gaps and Opportunities, and Case Examples
Eran Segal, Ph.D., Weizmann Institute of Science
Tim Spector, M.D., M.Sc., M.B., FRCP, King’s College London
Abigail Horn, Ph.D., Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Grace Peng, Ph.D., National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, NIH

2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Break and Poster Session

Section 6: Putting It All Together: What Does the Future Hold for Implementing Precision Nutrition Science?

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Panel Discussion

4:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Closing Remarks

4:15 p.m.

Adjournment

Abstracts

Abstracts

To encourage attendance of next-generation researchers in precision nutrition and to extend the breadth of information available to the scientific community, a poster session will be held in conjunction with the workshop presentations.

Poster submissions should include an abstract up to 1 page in length (single-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font) for the poster session, along with a cover letter containing a brief justification explaining why the submitter thinks the focus of the poster presentation would be relevant and contribute to the emphasis of the workshop.

Poster awards will be available to those whose posters are selected. The preferred applicants are Early Stage Investigators, as well as doctoral and postdoctoral students, working in areas of precision nutrition relevant to the topics identified in the workshop.

The poster sessions will be virtual.

Submission Deadline

December 21, 2020

Submitting Abstracts

All abstracts must be submitted via email to nutritionresearch@niddk.nih.gov with “NIH Workshop on Precision Nutrition Abstract” in the subject line. Download the Abstract Template (DOCX, 24.67 KB) .

Formatting Requirements

Please follow the instructions below to format the abstract. (Note: Submissions will not be edited for spelling or grammar and will be accepted “as is.”)

• The abstract should be an MS Word document typed, single-spaced using Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins. Everything but the title should be in normal, 12-point font.
  • The abstract’s title should be Bold, 16-Point, Title Case font and should clearly represent the nature of the investigation.
  • On the line after the title, list the author’s (or authors’) first and last names, degree(s), affiliation(s), city, state, and country.
  • Separate multiple authors with a semicolon and underline the primary author’s name (one primary author per abstract).
  • Insert one blank line between the title and the body of the abstract and between paragraphs.
  • The abstract file name should follow this format: LastNameOfPrimary Author_FirstWordOfTitle (e.g., Zucker_Effects).
• Please ensure that your abstract is the correct length and uses 1-inch margins.
• Use of standard abbreviations is desirable (e.g., BMI), as well as standard symbols for units of measure (e.g., kg, g, mg, mL, L, and %). Place any special or unusual abbreviations in parentheses after the full word the first time that it appears. Use numerals for all measurements, including time, except to begin sentences. Do not use subheadings (e.g., Methods, Results).
• Simple tables or graphs may be included; however, they must fit within the designated abstract space of one page.

Organize the body of the abstract as follows:

1. Statement of the purpose of the study/program/project
2. Statement of the methods used
3. Summary of the results presented in sufficient detail to support the conclusion
4. Statement of the conclusions reached

Acceptance Notification

Participants will be notified if their abstracts have been accepted as they are reviewed.

Poster Presentations

Poster presentations will be virtual. More information will be provided.

Please click here (PDF, 171.08 KB)  for the virtual poster submission guidelines.

All presenters must register in advance for the conference.