School of Law and Social Sciences

Improving global health: the impact of the micronutrient selenium on obesity-associated diseases

girl on a mountain looking at the sun rise

Despite the clear connections between nutrition and health, more than 1 billion people in the world are living with obesity and have increased risk of comorbidities. This project aims to define the role of the micronutrient selenium in modulating redox status and inflammation for the management of obesity associated diseases.

Award

MRes | MPhil | PhD | MSc by Research

Start Date

Usually February and October - at individual School's discretion

Research Opportunities

Summary

Global health is the main target for several United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); however, both the obesity epidemic and obesity associated diseases, which affect both developed and developing countries, represent major obstacles in the successful achievement of these goals. Adequate nutrition and, more specifically, micronutrient intake are key to support optimal health and reduce susceptibility to chronic diseases often associated with obesity.
Improving health and the nutritional quality of diets and reducing the burden of obesity and associated diseases are, therefore, central to meeting UK directives and UN sustainable development goals, and to achieving societal change. This can only be attained if the cellular and molecular mechanisms affected by micronutrient deficiency in the context of obesity and associated diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD), are fully elucidated.

This project will assess, by using in vitro and ex vivo models of disease, the mechanisms underpinning interactions between micronutrients and cellular processes (e.g. redox homeostasis, fat metabolism, mitochondrial metabolism/biogenesis, and inflammatory pathways), in order to understand their impact on the metabolism of overweight and obese individuals and disease risk. The proposed research will better characterise the importance of the micronutrient selenium and obesity, as risk factors for NAFLD, and, ultimately, it will provide evidence-based knowledge to inform public health strategies aimed at embracing positive nutrition and reducing risk of chronic disease in malnourished individuals.