ASPEN 2018 Research Workshop (RW)The Effect of Nutrition on Epigenetic Status, Growth and Health - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The ASPEN Research Workshop (RW) has been a highly successful and scientifically respected international
conference bringing together basic scientists, nutrition researchers and clinicians. The goal of the 2018 RW “The
Effect of Nutrition on Epigenetic Status, Growth and Health”, is to focus on influence of nutrition and dietary
exposure to xenobiotics on the epigenome during critical periods in development and how these exposures
influence disease incidence and severity over multiple generations.
A growing compendium of research indicates that the incidence and severity of common and costly human
diseases are influenced by dietary exposures and deficiencies that modify the epigenome. The greatest periods
of vulnerability to these exposures are the periconceptual period and early childhood. Xenobiotics delivered
through the food chain, protein malnutrition, methyl donor deficiencies and excesses have a profound bearing
on the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and mental illness over several
generations. The financial impact and the life burden of these diseases is enormous. Knowledge of the influences
of nutrition on the epigenome is well understood in scientific community, but is poorly disseminated among
healthcare providers who make critical clinical decisions for patients and also influence nutrition policy. The 2018
RW is leveraged to address the existing gap between the bench and the bedside. The 2018 RW will provide a
venue for inter-disciplinary collaboration among early career and established researchers from basic, applied
and clinical outcomes science that are seeking opportunities to improve health and reduce disease burden
through scientifically valid nutritional strategies. This RW brings together nutrition researchers from ASPEN with
experts from the fields of developmental biology, epigenetics, population biology, and pediatric nutrition support.
This milieu will facilitate research collaborations, where they might not otherwise occur. This topic is of key
relevance to ASPEN researchers, and indeed for health care delivery policy.
The aims of the 2018 ASPEN RW are: 1) To provide a venue for basic scientists and clinicians from a range
of disciplines and across all levels of training and experience. To focus on clinically relevant, and cutting-edge
research on the mechanisms by which nutrition modulates the epigenetic risk for disease in adulthood, thus
bridging basic research and clinical care. 2) To support translational science by fostering communication and
collaboration among interdisciplinary researchers and clinicians thus bringing research from bench to bed-side.
3) To provide opportunities for mentorship of early career researchers/scientists and trainees. 4) To
disseminate the 2018 RW activities and information to the broader scientific community.
The 2018 RW will achieve these aims, having focused on a rapidly evolving scientific field with broad clinical
relevance. Through interdisciplinary collaborations and our success in prior workshops; the 2018 RW has a
well-founded precedence of success in pertinent knowledge translation, to advance the science of patient care.
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