London Metropolitan University Research Institutes
 
 

Research Projects

Current research


The special interest is in the role the lipids and essential fatty acids are interacting with the cellular signaling systems. That is, we are interested in the key interaction between nutrition affecting membrane lipids and gene expression. Lipid composition is influenced by diet and that in turn influences the membrane proteins which are the ion channels, receptors, signaling and protective enzymes. With only 40,000 genes or less reported in the Human Genome result instead of an expected 150,000, the interface between nutrition and gene expression, which has been the hub of our basic research, now becomes a post-genome priority.

International collaboration is being developed to bring a multidisciplinary approach in cell physics, chemistry and molecular biology together with their applications to clinical science. The objective is to reach a better understand the links between contrasting diets, in Europe, Asia and Africa with adverse pregnancy outcome and chronic disease. The specific aim is to understand the role that the different fatty acids play in membrane structure and cell function in order to reveal the mechanisms of chronic disease and neuro-developmental disorders.

Collaboration is in place on cell membrane lipids, structure function and the role of nutrition in gene expression with the molecular biology at the University of Bergen and National Food Research Institute, Japan, nutrition at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and University of Toronto, neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute, membrane physics at the University of British Columbia, the USDA and the Max Plank Institute, Berlin, paleontology at the University of Capetown and the USDA., immune function with the South African Medical Research Council.

Other work in collaboration with several outside groups is exploring the way in which the lipids and AA and DHA in particular are involved in prenatal programming. In this context we have set up the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Post Graduate Research Fellowship to examine the possibility that maternal nutrition could be manipulated to down grade white cell membrane permissivity to HIV entry and so help protect against vertical transmission of HIV-1.








 

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