GROWTH · Research and Training in Early Life Nutrition to Prevent Disease

Research and Training in Early Life Nutrition to Prevent Disease

The GROWTH programme was a pioneering Innovative Training Network focused on European Industrial Doctorates, dedicated to nurturing young researchers with a business orientation. It aimed to develop comprehensive pathological insights, advanced biomarker diagnostics, and tailor-made nutritional interventions targeting intestinal diseases across various life stages, from neonates and preterm infants to adults. GROWTH was a collaborative effort, bridging seven non-academic and five academic partners to expedite the translation of foundational research into clinical practice. This programme leveraged extensive biosample collections, state-of-the-art experimental models, and high-caliber infrastructure, thereby significantly advancing our understanding of intestinal development and disease mechanisms from an early age. The programme articulated four primary research objectives intended to endow Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) with a diverse array of scientific skills throughout their doctoral studies: 1. Identify metabolic elements in breast milk that influence gut epithelia or mucosal immune responses, providing protection against conditions like sepsis or necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in infants. 2. Explore the alterations in microbiota associated with preterm births, clarifying the gut microbiome's role in metabolizing breast milk and early-life nutritional supplements. 3. Characterize bioactive microbial co-metabolites from intestinal or endogenous sources that impact gut epithelia or immune cells, in relation to intestinal health and disease. 4. Analyze metabolic profiles from longitudinal sample collections and create innovative bioinformatics methods to study interactions between the microbiome, host, and nutrition in extensive omics datasets, facilitating biomarker identification and the optimization of dietary strategies for neonates and preterm infants. With the completion of the GROWTH programme, a new chapter in the battle against intestinal diseases through personalized healthcare solutions such as early life nutrition has been firmly established.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз