Grant: Fellowship - PA: Micronutrients and Dietary Bioactives (SHOPP)

When infants are exposed to poor nutrition in the womb or shortly after birth, their metabolism is altered to compensate for this situation. It has recently been shown that these infants, who are often born small and then catch-up, actually have a higher risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Some nutrients, such as the amino acid methionine, have dual roles during growth. Methionine is incorporated into protein and is also responsible for methylation reactions which are critical in maintaining health. These methylation reactions also program DNA in infants, and when programmed incorrectly, they can permanently increase a person's susceptibility to disease later in life. However, other dietary nutrients such as creatine, folate, betaine and choline can spare the need for methionine. Using the neonatal piglet as a model, we intend to investigate which part of our DNA is changed following poor nutrition in the womb, and how the change leads to an altered metabolism associated with chronic disease. Overall, this research will help optimize nutrition recommendations for infants and potentially prevent chronic diseases later in life.