Progress 07/15/06 to 07/14/10
Outputs
The goal of this grant was to create a modular on-line course in Nutrigenomics and provide students with training and understanding in Nutrigenomics that will enable nutritionists and healthcare professionals to create optimized/individualized diets that will prevent or intervene in disease. We have completed all the goals and have created a formal online course in Nutrigenomics. This course also allows other instructors to utilize the whole course or separate modules to customize or individualize coursework. We currently enroll undergraduate students and a graduate version has now been approved and will be delivered in Spring 2011. Additionally we have developed an online program based off of this course, which consists of 5 additional courses utilizing the modules or format. Therefore, hundreds of students will benefit from the course each year. Variations of the course are in development and will be offered at least one other universities as of this time. We have also created an online laboratory where laboratory experiments are based publications from the grant will be designed. There are no remaining tasks. PRODUCTS: We created a course and framework from which an individualized course in Nutrigenomics can be assembled using the prepared modules. The course is now officially offered in for both undergraduate and graduate sessions. There are four completed modules: Introduction to Nutrigenomics, Bioinformatics, Nutrition, Disease, and Associated Target Genes, and Methods for Target Validation. The modules contain approximately 20 sub-modules, which can be interchanged with existing or future courses. We have also completed software and laboratory experiments to allow online experiences in the field. OUTCOMES: A formal online course in Nutrigenomics has been completed and will allow other instructors to utilize the whole course or separate modules to customize or individualize coursework. In the formal course, we will enroll 25-50 undergraduate students and ~5 graduate students each year. Additionally we have developed an online program based on this course, which consists of 5 additional courses utilizing the modules or format. Therefore, another 100 students per year will be trained using offshoots of the course. Variations of the course are in development and will be offered at 2-3 other universities as of now. Also the online laboratory will provide novel a novel training experience. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Dr. Burd has made several oral presentations and outlined the course and its availability. We also have several websites and will launch a formal marketing strategy for Summer 2011. FUTURE INITIATIVES: We will continue to expand and disseminate the course. This course will also be offered as a requirement for Nutrition Minors in 2011.
Impacts
Students now have access to training in Nutrigenomics. Hundreds of students per year will benefit from the modules or framework developed from this program. Multiple universities will offer the course or variations of the course so the number of students who benefit will increase by many fold. We are now able to offer a minor in the summer in Nutrition that is completely online and based on the class format.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/15/08 to 07/14/09
Outputs
The goal of this grant was to create a modular on-line course in Nutrigenomics and provide students with training and understanding in Nutrigenomics that will enable nutritionists and healthcare professionals to create optimized/individualized diets that will prevent or intervene in disease. Since the last progress report we have made significant progress towards completing the goals of the grant. A formal online course in Nutrigenomics has been completed and will allow other instructors to utilize the whole course or separate modules to customize or individualize coursework. We successfully completed a beta test of this course in Spring 09. A formal course has been approved and will be offered every year. In the formal course, we will enroll undergraduate students and graduate students each year. Additionally we have developed an online program based off of this course, which consists of 5 additional courses utilizing the modules or format. Variations of the course are in development and will be offered at 2-3 other universities as of this time. Because of the demand for this course that number will likely increase. The laboratory experiments are based on the plan of study included in the education modules and focus on various aspects of nutritional genomics as they relate to obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. We have also completed professional design of the course website which will be used for advertising the course and dissemination. The remaining tasks are to complete the laboratory software and exercises and prepare the offshoot courses for launch. PRODUCTS: We created a course and framework from which an individualized course in Nutrigenomics can be assembled using the prepared modules. The course is now officially offered in spring sessions. There are four completed modules: Introduction to Nutrigenomics, Bioinformatics, Nutrition, Disease, and Associated Target Genes, and Methods for Target Validation. The modules contain approximately 20 sub-modules, which can be interchanged with existing or future courses. As the last phase to complete we are finishing software and laboratory experiments to allow online experiences in the field. OUTCOMES: A formal online course in Nutrigenomics has been completed and will allow other instructors to utilize the whole course or separate modules to customize or individualize coursework. In the formal course, we will enroll 25-30 undergraduate students and ~5 graduate students each year. Additionally we have developed an online program based on this course, which consists of 5 additional courses utilizing the modules or format. Therefore, another 100 students per year will be trained using offshoots of the course. Variations of the course are in development and will be offered at 2-3 other universities as of now. More universities will likely use the course as well. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Dr. Burd made an oral presentation "Nutrigenomics for the Study of Disease Prevention and Intervention: A flexible online course that can be optimized for effectiveness by student and course assessment" at the NACTA/SERD Conference, June 17-20, 2009. He outlined the course and its availability. He will also present a poster at the Research Frontiers in Nutritional Science meeting, Tucson, AZ in October, 2009. Dissemination of the course continues through the program website. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The futures initiatives are to complete the laboratory software and exercises and prepare the offshoot courses for launch.
Impacts
Students now have access to training in Nutrigenomics. Over 100 students per year will benefit from the modules or framework developed from this program. Multiple universities will offer the course or variations of the course so the number of students who benefit will increase by many fold.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/15/07 to 07/14/08
Outputs
The goal of this grant is to create a modular on-line course in Nutrigenomics and provide students with training and understanding in Nutrigenomics that will enable nutritionists and healthcare professionals to create optimized/individualized diets that will prevent or intervene in disease. Since the last progress report we have made significant progress towards completing the goals of the grant. We have completed the work required for the core of the class and its on-line modules. We have applied for official course offering in the Spring Semesters. Two beta testing sections have already been approved and will be offered in the Winter and Spring Sessions of 09. The instructors will have the opportunity to meet with the students during the beta testing offerings to acquire input from the students so adjustments can be made and finalized for the full course offering in the Spring Session. We have also made progress toward the laboratory sections, which was a future goal in the last report. The laboratory experiments are based on the plan of study included in the education modules and focus on various aspects of nutritional genomics as they relate to obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. An experimental exercise is described in which a dietary food component was combined with lipitor in an apo E-/- mouse model to target prostaglandin production and genetic biomarkers of inflammation and cardiovascular disease. Another exercise is designed to focus on modifying dietary energy balance and the genetic impact linked to cancer development. An experimental plan to study the effect of calorie restriction on genes involved in breast and pancreatic cancer will be presented. Insulin-like growth factor is increased in many cancers including breast and pancreatic. Obesity is associated chronic systemic inflammation with increased levels of cytokines. A transgenic mouse model of pancreatic cancer will be used to demonstrate the strong positive correlation between diet, energy balance, and IGF-1, TNFα and IL-1β. The study will also demonstrate the interaction of calorie restriction on the K-ras driven signaling genes. Studies on the impact of polymorphisms and diet are under development by the investigators who have specific expertise in the respective areas and include screening experiments using genetic screening models, genetic polymorphism and disease related to diet, and specific bioinformatics exercises. The laboratory components are on-track to be incorporated into the beta class and finalized for launch of the Spring Semester class. Also in this regard, we have made upgrades and additions to the laboratory software which will be used to follow and conduct experiments on-line. The validation component of the experiments will utilize the on-line software and allow students to follow and interact with the validation experiments and focus on data handling. The directors met in person throughout the year in 07/08 and finalized the format of the modules so that beta testing can begin in the Winter Session. We have also completed professional design of the course website which will be used for advertising the course and dissemination. PRODUCTS: We have developed a course, and framework from which an individualized course in Nutrigenomics can be assembled using the prepared modules. The course will be in usable form for Winter/Spring 09 sessions and will be finalized on-time by the final year of the project (Summer 09). The produced modules have been modified since the last report and now include: Introduction to Nutrigenomics, Screening for Bioactive Nutrients and Compounds (Bioinformatics Section), Nutrition, Disease, and Associated Target Genes, Methods for Target Validation modules are as follows: The modules contain approximately 20 sub-modules, which can be interchanged with existing or future courses. In addition, software and laboratory experiments have been developed to allow online experiences in related experiments and for easy dissemination. A dissemination and information website has also been professionally designed. OUTCOMES: Instructional modules have been prepared that will form an online course in Nutrigenomics and allow other instructors to utilize the whole course or separate modules to customize or individualize coursework. In addition, software and laboratory experiments have been developed to allow online experiences for easy dissemination. A course website has also been developed DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Dr. Burd chaired the Bioinformatics and Genomics session at a national nutrition meeting (Research Frontiers in Nutritional Science, Tucson, AZ in October, 2007). During the Bioinformatics and Genomics session he gave a talk and presented information pertaining to the course to outline the goals and availability of the course. The audience was a wide range of individuals in the nutrition and bioinformatics fields. A poster was also used to advertise the upcoming availability of the course. Co-Investigators, Drs. Marc Halfon and David Mount, were also present and gave talks on bioinformatics as it relates to Nutritional Genomics and the course. A website has also been designed to advertise and disseminate the course. Upon completion, the course will be made available through the website and continued efforts will be made to disseminate the course at the bi-annual meeting. Efforts will also be made to recruit students for the beta testing this fall. Dissemination of the course modules will also be made through the program website and advertising. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The major future initiative is to complete the laboratory exercises and begin recruiting students for the beta testing for Winter Session 09. The other main goal is to finalize the course after the beta testing and prepare the course for full launch and dissemination.
Impacts
The course is approved for beta testing and we have applied for official offering of the full course. Students will have the opportunity to take a course and gain research experience in this highly technical and diverse field. Instructors will have access to course materials and can incorporate the materials into existing or new courses. Impact will be measured in students who take the beta and full course and instructors who utilize the course and adjustments in content will be made according to feedback
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/15/06 to 07/14/07
Outputs
The goal of this grant is to create a modular on-line course in Nutrigenomics to provide students of food science, agriculture and life sciences with education and training in Nutrigenomics to increase interest in and understanding of this high technology area. The greater goal is to provide training and understanding in Nutrigenomics that will enable nutritionists and healthcare professionals to create optimized/individualized diets that will prevent or intervene in disease. This is a multi-institutional collaborative effort that includes centers of excellence and individuals with areas of expertise in nutrition and bioinformatics. To date the overall course presentation framework has been created as well as several modules. The finished course will include 20 sub-modules which will form 4 core modules. The core modules include Bioinformatics, Nutrition and Disease, Screening of Bioactive Compounds and Model Validation. The core module for "Nutrition and Disease" and
various sub-modules for the "Bioinformatics" and "Screening of Bioactive Compounds" cores have been created and are being reviewed and modified before the modules are put into final format. The modules are as follows: Nutrition and Disease (Core module), Introduction to Control of Gene Expression (beginner level), Introduction to Bioinformatics and Databases, Genome Annotation/Gene Prediction, DNA Motifs (Predication and Discovery), Introduction to DNA Microarrays. Because this course is being created by various individuals, a unifying format is under development and will be decided upon at a meeting the module directors have planned for October 2007. The goal of this meeting is to finalize the look and format of the modules so that beta testing can begin in the Winter Session. A dissemination website is also under professional design and will be on-line after the directors meet in October, 2007.
PRODUCTS: A course framework from which an individualized course in Nutrigenomics can be built using the prepared modules has been completed. To date the Nutrition and Disease Core module and various sub-modules have been created and are being reviewed. The modules will be put into final or formal format following discussion at the directors meeting in October, 2007 before beta testing begins. The modules are as follows: Nutrition and Disease (Core module), Introduction to Control of Gene Expression, Introduction to Bioinformatics and Databases, Genome Annotation/Gene Prediction, DNA Motifs (Predication and Discovery), Introduction to DNA Microarrays. A dissemination website is also under professional design and will be on-line in October 2007.
OUTCOMES: Instructional modules have been prepared that will form an online course in Nutrigenomics and allow other instructors to utilize the whole course or separate modules to customize or individualize coursework.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Dr. Burd and other participants will present the modules and course concept during the Bioinformatics and Genomics session at a national nutrition meeting (Research Frontiers in Nutritional Science, Tucson, AZ) to be held in October, 2007. The concept, use and availability of the course will be presented to a wide range of individuals in the appropriate fields. A poster and information desk will also be used to advertise the course and encourage use and participation. The course will made available through a website that contains a lay person section, a professional section and a coursework section where the modules can be downloaded as a whole course or individual modules so the course can be customized.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: The major future initiative is to begin beta testing of the completed modules by Winter Session, January, 2008. We also plan to complete the remaining modules and the proposed laboratory exercises.
Impacts
Impact will be assed following beta testing and course offerings.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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