(Press-News.org) Two Tufts-related initiatives have been included in the White House’s new round of public and private sector commitments, announced today by the Biden-Harris administration, to end hunger, improve nutrition, and reduce diet-related disease in the United States by 2030. The White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities continues the Biden-Harris administration’s work started at the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health that was held in September 2022, encouraging stakeholders from all corners to develop bold commitments to help achieve the administration’s five key pillars of national health.
The first Tufts commitment is the establishment of the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. The Institute will spearhead a variety of collaborative efforts to implement, evaluate, and integrate food-based nutrition interventions and education to promote health, well-being, and health equity through innovative research, training for health care professionals, patient care, policy development, and community engagement. A university-wide initiative that includes the School of Medicine and collaborates with Tufts Medicine, the Institute is led by Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist, Distinguished Professor, and the Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School.
This commitment includes current funding of $15 million, including $10 million in grants and gifts and a new investment of $5 million from the University. Additionally, the Institute will raise $10 million in grants and gifts over the next 5 years, which will be further matched by the University with annual support equivalent to payout of a $10 million endowment.
“Obesity, diabetes, and other chronic, diet-related conditions are a national emergency, driven by food and nutrition insecurity across the nation. The 2022 White House Conference – the first such national effort in more than 50 years – drew attention to these devastating challenges,” said Mozaffarian, who previously served as dean of the Friedman School. “Food is Medicine is one of the most exciting innovations in health care to leverage the critical role of nutrition in health. The Food is Medicine Institute will advance the evidence around this vision, serving as a catalyst to test and scale Food is Medicine interventions, mobilize public, private, and policy stakeholders, reduce health disparities, and create a more equitable and resilient health care system that recognizes the power of nourishing food.”
The Institute was launched at an event in Boston on Oct. 18.
The second commitment will be a collaboration between the Institute and Kaiser Permanente to develop and co-lead a new National Food is Medicine Network of Excellence, bringing together multiple stakeholders such as health care providers and payers, non-profits, the private sector, professional associations, and academic institutions to engage in collaborative efforts to advance Food is Medicine initiatives.
The Network will lead the nation in collaborative efforts to integrate nutritional interventions that both transform and adapt to existing treatment models, harnessing the latest in research and training to enhance patient care and education as well as raise rates of patient buy-in and participation. Network members will share knowledge and convene leaders surrounding Food is Medicine, develop collective and complementary projects, secure joint funding for activities, and work together on education and advocacy to support testing, scaling, and integration of Food is Medicine into health care systems and communities.
“It’s exciting to bring together these two powerhouses in their fields – Tufts in research and education, and Kaiser Permanente in providing equitable, evidenced-based health care, community investments and research – to form a collaborative national alliance to advance the research and practice of Food is Medicine,” said Mozaffarian.
“We recognize that solving for food and nutrition security goes beyond just giving people food. People’s attitudes toward food, the economic tradeoffs they must make, the stigma around food assistance, and social and culture dimensions all play an important role,” said Pamela Schwartz, executive director for Community Health at Kaiser Permanente. “The Network of Excellence will bring together public and private organizations to make a greater impact on reducing hunger, preventing, and treating diet-related disease, as well as improving health equity.”
The Food is Medicine Institute is a direct and enthusiastic response to pillars 2 (Integrate nutrition and health) and 5 (Enhance nutrition and food security research) of the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. With the National Food is Medicine Network of Excellence, the Institute and Kaiser Permanente further strengthen their shared commitments to these pillars. Both commitments ultimately seek to create a system where consumption of nutritious food is recognized as a fundamental component of health and health care and where all people and communities have the knowledge, resources, and support to achieve optimal health and health equity through nourishing food.
END
White House includes two Tufts-related initiatives in commitments to end hunger, reduce diet-related disease
Innovative new institute and collaborative alliance led by institute and Kaiser Permanente among initiatives highlighted
2024-02-27
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
U of M-led research identifies predictor of outcomes, chemoresistance for ovarian cancer patients
2024-02-27
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (2/27/2024) — In a major scientific breakthrough, newly published research from an international consortium led by the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center has the potential to transform the landscape of ovarian cancer treatment.
Published today in JAMA Network Open, the findings indicate that ovarian cancer patients with high levels of stroma within their tumors are twice as likely to exhibit chemoresistance to the conventional standard of care. Stroma is the non-cancerous tissue that provides support to tumors.
The ...
NRG Oncology announces new leadership of Canadian Members Subcommittee
2024-02-27
NRG Oncology, a National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) group focused on improving outcomes for adults with cancer through multi-center clinical research, recently announced a new Chair and Vice Chair of the organization’s Canadian Members Subcommittee.
The NRG Canadian Members Subcommittee is tasked with engaging and supporting NRG’s Canadian member institutions through their participation in NRG research. This subcommittee was created to tackle the unique regulatory, administrative, and ...
Bariatric surgery provides long-term blood glucose control, type 2 diabetes remission
2024-02-27
BATON ROUGE – People with type 2 diabetes who underwent bariatric surgery achieved much better long-term blood glucose control compared to people who received medical management plus lifestyle interventions, according to a new study published in JAMA, or Journal of the American Medical Association, and funded by the National institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of The National Institutes of Health.
In addition, participants who underwent bariatric surgery, also called metabolic or weight-loss surgery, were more likely to stop needing diabetes medications and had higher rates of diabetes remission up to 12 years post-surgery. ...
The anti-aging effect of vitamin D and vitamin D receptor in Drosophila midgut
2024-02-27
“Our study demonstrated that the VitD/VDR [vitamin D/vitamin D receptor] pathway is required for intestinal homeostasis during normal differentiation and aging.”
BUFFALO, NY- February 27, 2024 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 3, entitled, “The anti-aging effect of vitamin D and vitamin D receptor in Drosophila midgut.”
Adult stem cells are pivotal for maintaining tissue homeostasis, and their functional ...
You may be breathing in more tiny nanoparticles from your gas stove than from car exhaust
2024-02-27
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Cooking on your gas stove can emit more nano-sized particles into the air than vehicles that run on gas or diesel, possibly increasing your risk of developing asthma or other respiratory illnesses, a new Purdue University study has found.
“Combustion remains a source of air pollution across the world, both indoors and outdoors. We found that cooking on your gas stove produces large amounts of small nanoparticles that get into your respiratory system and deposit efficiently,” said Brandon Boor, an associate professor in Purdue’s Lyles School of Civil Engineering, who led this research.
Based on these ...
NREL-led workshop points to path for clean energy future
2024-02-27
Participants in a workshop organized by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) agree on the importance of mitigating degradation rates for the continuing rollout of clean technologies.
Renewable energy is forecast to play an expanded role in meeting future needs, with terawatts of electricity expected to be generated from wind and solar, so the performance of the technologies involved is becoming increasingly important. Any technology degrades over time, so researchers are looking at ways to curb this issue. Mitigating degradation will become a factor ...
Teens benefit from "forest bathing" – even in cities
2024-02-27
Youth mental health in urban environments is significantly better when more nature is incorporated into city design.
A new study from University of Waterloo researchers suggests that forest bathing, the simple method of being calm and quiet amongst the trees, observing nature around you while breathing deeply, can help youth de-stress and boost health and well-being.
The study was the first ever to collect on-site, real-time survey data from adolescents about their emotional responses to various urban environments like a transit hub, residential ...
Psychological science professor receives prestigious CAREER Award
2024-02-27
The National Science Foundation awarded Grant Shields, assistant professor of psychological science at the U of A, with a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development award to support his research on the cognitive mechanisms and processes underlying inhibitory control under stress.
Inhibitory control is the means by which automatic urges, emotions and behaviors, like wanting to tell your boss what you really think about being asked to work Saturday, are controlled to produce (ideally) better outcomes (yes, you’ll work Saturday because the need for a paycheck outweighs the desire ...
Research lessons to inform future CAP reform
2024-02-27
On February 7, 2024, BESTMAP marked the end of the four-year project with a significant Final Dissemination Event in Brussels, Belgium. Titled "Research Lessons to Inform Future CAP Reform," the event was coordinated by project partners - RISE Foundation in collaboration with BESTMAP's sister projects within the AGRIMODELS cluster, all under the Forum for the Future of Agriculture initiative.
The event addressed concerns about the ongoing decline of biodiversity in Europe and the unmet environmental goals despite annual spending of €12.1 billion on environmentally oriented measures within the CAP. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) plays a crucial role ...
New AI model could streamline operations in a robotic warehouse
2024-02-27
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Hundreds of robots zip back and forth across the floor of a colossal robotic warehouse, grabbing items and delivering them to human workers for packing and shipping. Such warehouses are increasingly becoming part of the supply chain in many industries, from e-commerce to automotive production.
However, getting 800 robots to and from their destinations efficiently while keeping them from crashing into each other is no easy task. It is such a complex problem that even the best path-finding algorithms struggle to keep up with the breakneck pace of e-commerce or manufacturing.
In a sense, ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Preschool education: A key to supporting allophone children
CNIC scientists discover a key mechanism in fat cells that protects the body against energetic excess
Chemical replacement of TNT explosive more harmful to plants, study shows
Scientists reveal possible role of iron sulfides in creating life in terrestrial hot springs
Hormone therapy affects the metabolic health of transgender individuals
Survey of 12 European countries reveals the best and worst for smoke-free homes
First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years
Certain HRT tablets linked to increased heart disease and blood clot risk
Talking therapy and rehabilitation probably improve long covid symptoms, but effects modest
Ban medical research with links to the fossil fuel industry, say experts
Different menopausal hormone treatments pose different risks
Novel CAR T cell therapy obe-cel demonstrates high response rates in adult patients with advanced B-cell ALL
Clinical trial at Emory University reveals twice-yearly injection to be 96% effective in HIV prevention
Discovering the traits of extinct birds
Are health care disparities tied to worse outcomes for kids with MS?
For those with CTE, family history of mental illness tied to aggression in middle age
The sound of traffic increases stress and anxiety
Global food yields have grown steadily during last six decades
Children who grow up with pets or on farms may develop allergies at lower rates because their gut microbiome develops with more anaerobic commensals, per fecal analysis in small cohort study
North American Early Paleoindians almost 13,000 years ago used the bones of canids, felids, and hares to create needles in modern-day Wyoming, potentially to make the tailored fur garments which enabl
Higher levels of democracy and lower levels of corruption are associated with more doctors, independent of healthcare spending, per cross-sectional study of 134 countries
In major materials breakthrough, UVA team solves a nearly 200-year-old challenge in polymers
Wyoming research shows early North Americans made needles from fur-bearers
Preclinical tests show mRNA-based treatments effective for blinding condition
Velcro DNA helps build nanorobotic Meccano
Oceans emit sulfur and cool the climate more than previously thought
Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry
Rare, mysterious brain malformations in children linked to protein misfolding, study finds
Newly designed nanomaterial shows promise as antimicrobial agent
Scientists glue two proteins together, driving cancer cells to self-destruct
[Press-News.org] White House includes two Tufts-related initiatives in commitments to end hunger, reduce diet-related diseaseInnovative new institute and collaborative alliance led by institute and Kaiser Permanente among initiatives highlighted