The Nutrition Research Institute is committed to conducting innovative, basic and translational science to support the understanding of individualized nutrition. These advances in science promote the prevention and reduction of chronic disease and obesity. To move discoveries from the laboratory to doctors’ offices, investigators conduct clinical studies.
The Human Research Core is a facility within the NRI where clinical research is done. The core provides human nutrition investigators with multidisciplinary services and equipment in one location.
Essential to individualized nutrition is the understanding of a person’s metabolism and body composition. In the Human Research Core, metabolism—the rate at which one expends energy—is assessed using metabolic carts, which measure respiration, or the amounts of oxygen consumed and carbon dioxide expelled. Metabolism is affected by a person’s body composition and in the Human Research Core, researchers use special equipment to assess an individual’s ratio of fat to lean body mass. The DXA measures body composition using low-dose x-rays and the BodPod uses air displacement technology. Special to the NRI’s Human Research Core is a whole-room calorimeter. This is a room that precisely assesses a person’s full range of energy expenditures in a 24-hour period.
Supplementing the core’s state-of-the-art equipment are phlebotomy services for drawing blood and processing samples and a metabolic research kitchen where exactly measured meals are prepared for study participants. The Human Research Core’s specialized team provides assistance with study design, subject recruitment, scheduling, screening, and anthropometric measurements (analysis of body dimensions like height, weight, and circumferences of waist, hip and chest).
Usually there are several clinical studies in process at the Nutrition Research Institute and they often will pay participants. Check our Participate page regularly for opportunities.
