Francesc Villarroya and Rosa M. Lamuela receive Danone Institute grants for projects on nutrition and health

The award ceremony took place on Thursday 18 December at the headquarters of the Royal Academy of Medicine, in Madrid.
The award ceremony took place on Thursday 18 December at the headquarters of the Royal Academy of Medicine, in Madrid.
Research
(16/12/2014)

Francesc Villarroya, professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Rosa M. Lamuela, lecturer in the Department of Nutrition and Bromatology, have received one of the research grants awarded by the Danone Institute. Its first call for research grants aims at promoting research and knowledge dissemination in the fields of food, nutrition and health.

The award ceremony took place on Thursday 18 December at the headquarters of the Royal Academy of Medicine, in Madrid.
The award ceremony took place on Thursday 18 December at the headquarters of the Royal Academy of Medicine, in Madrid.
Research
16/12/2014

Francesc Villarroya, professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Rosa M. Lamuela, lecturer in the Department of Nutrition and Bromatology, have received one of the research grants awarded by the Danone Institute. Its first call for research grants aims at promoting research and knowledge dissemination in the fields of food, nutrition and health.

Professor Francesc Villarroya, director of the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB) and member of the Biomedical Research Networking Centres on Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn), will receive funds to develop the project “FGF21, un nou factor bioactiu de la llet materna” (FGF21, a new bioactive factor of breast milk). Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), mainly secreted by the liver, is a protein which acts as a metabolic regulator and plays a key role as an anti-diabetic and anti-obesity agent. The main objective of the project is to know FGF21 biology of breast milk and its impact on babyʼs growth. Data will contribute to know the molecular basis of breast milk beneficial effects and allow promoting effective alternatives (improvements in the development of artificial baby milk products, etc.).

The lecturer Rosa M. Lamuela, who is also member of the CIBERobn, heads the Natural Antioxidant Research Group of the UB and collaborates with the Nutrition and Food Safety Research Institute (INSA). Funds provided by the Danone Institute will be allocated to the development of the project “Els aliments probiòtics augmenten la presència de compostos bioactius fenòlics en lʼorganisme i disminueixen els paràmetres de risc cardiovascular” (Probiotic food increase the presence of phenolic bioactive compounds in the organism and reduce cardiovascular risk parameters). Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds found largely in vegetables which have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, etc. effects. By means of samples obtained from the PREDIMED study, the project, headed by Lamuela, will evaluate the relationship among the intake of probiotics, the absorption polyphenols and the reduction of inflammation and cardiovascular risk parameters.

The Danone Institute has also honoured Ascensión Marcos, researcher at the Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN-CSIC), who has received the D. Carles Martí Henneberg Prize in recognition of her scientific career. Ana Belén Ropero, lecturer of Nutrition and Bromatology at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche, has received the Science Communication Award.

The award ceremony took place on Thursday 18 December at the headquarters of the Royal Academy of Medicine, in Madrid. The personalities who participate in the event are: Teresa Robledo de Dios, adviser of the Spanish Strategy for Nutrition,Physical Activity and Prevention of Obesity of the Spanish Agency of Consumption, Food Security and Nutrition; Joaquín Poch, president of the Royal Academy of Medicine; Manuel Serrano, honorary president of the Danone Institute; Luis A. Moreno, president of the Danone Institute, and Joao Paulo Andorinha, R&D director of Danone.