The

Jean Mayer Jean Mayer (19 April 1920 – 1 January 1993) was a French-American scientist best known for his research on the physiological bases of hunger and the metabolism of essential nutrients, and for his role in shaping policy on world hunger at bo ...

Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA), located in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of six human nutrition research centers in the United States supported by the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...

. The goal of the HNRCA, which is managed by

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, is to explore the relationship between nutrition, physical activity, and healthy and active aging.

History

In the

Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 The United States Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-113, also known as the 1977 U.S. Farm Bill) was an omnibus farm bill. The S. 275 legislation was passed by the 95th U.S. Congressional session and signed into law by the 39th Presiden ...

, Congress directed the

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

to establish a comprehensive human nutrition research program and to study the potential cost and value of regional research centers for nutrition. The Agriculture Appropriations Bill, passed later in 1977, instructed the USDA to establish an “adult” human nutrition research facility at

in Massachusetts. On August 1, 1979, the Cooperative Agreement between Tufts University and the USDA was signed, and on October 23 of the same year, the

National Institute on Aging The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIA itself is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the ...

and the USDA signed a Memorandum of Understanding detailing their mutual interest in the HNRCA at Tufts University. Tufts University donated land from its Boston campus for the HNRCA. It is run by cooperative agreement between the ARS and Tufts University.

Contributions to society

The HNRCA is one of the largest research centers in the world studying nutrition and physical activity in healthy and active aging and the prevention of age-related disease. It has made significant contributions to U.S. and international nutritional and physical activity recommendations, public policy, and clinical healthcare.http://www.larrl.ars.usda.gov/recovery/boston.htm?pf=1 These contributions include advancements in the knowledge of the role of dietary calcium and vitamin D in promoting nutrition and bone health, the role of nutrients in maintaining the optimal immune response and prevention of infectious diseases, role of diet in prevention of cancer, obesity research, modifications to the Food Guide Pyramid, contribution to USDA nutrient data bank, advancements in the study of

sarcopenia Sarcopenia is a type of muscle loss ( muscle atrophy) that occurs with aging and/or immobility. It is characterized by the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass, quality, and strength. The rate of muscle loss is dependent on exercise level, ...

, heart disease, vision, brain and cognitive function, front of packaging food labeling initiatives, and research of how genetic factors impact predisposition to weight gain and various health indicators.

Center structure

The HNRCA employs 270 people, including 60 scientific researchers (holding degrees of Ph.D., M.D., M.P.H., D.V.M.) with faculty appointments at different schools at Tufts University, adjunct scientists, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scientists, ARS researchers, graduate students and other trainees, and administrative and scientific support staff. HNRCA scientists are trained in nutrition, biochemistry, genetics, medicine, endocrinology, gastroenterology, physiology, veterinary medicine, epidemiology, physics, and molecular biology.

Current research

Research clusters within the HNRCA address four specific strategic areas: 1) Cancer, 2) Cardiovascular Disease, 3) Inflammation, Immunity, and Infectious Disease and 4) Obesity. HNRCA scientists collectively average more than one high-impact scientific journal publication each business day of the year and are often cited in the media.

Internal core units

Essential scientific core services provided within the HNRCA are Biostatistics, Comparative Biology Unit, Dietary Assessment Unit, Functional Genomics, Mass Spectrometry, Metabolic Research Unit, and Nutrition Evaluation Laboratory.

Research and publications

The HNRCA scientists collectively average more than one high-impact scientific journal publication each business day of the year and receive a large amount of high-profile media exposure.

References

External links

Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging
- official site

Labs

AntioxidantsBody CompositionBone MetabolismCardiovascular NutritionEnergy MetabolismNeuroscience and AgingNutrition and NeurocognitionNutrition & Cancer BiologyNutritional EpidemiologyNutrition, Exercise, Physiology and Sarcopenia (NEPS)Nutritional GenomicsNutritional ImmunologyNutrition & Vision ResearchObesity MetabolismVascular BiologyVitamins & CarcinogenesisVitamin KVitamin Metabolism
{{authority control Food science institutes Research institutes established in 1979 Tufts University United States Department of Agriculture facilities 1979 establishments in Massachusetts