The primary purpose of the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit at UAB is to generate, promote and strengthen interdisciplinary reseach in clinical and basic nutrition emphasizing prevention of disease. primarily cancer, and the improvement of patient care. The UAB-CNRU is committed to the improvement of nutrition education, from the dissemination of sound nutrition information to the public, to the education of health professionals and investigators in nutrition sciences. To accomplish these goals the CNRU supports an Administrative Core of Key personnel responsible for planning evaluating and managing programmatic and fiscal affairs of a broad spectrum of research and training activities. The provision of shared resources in the form seven Core laboratories/facilities and the support of starter grants for young investigators are the main mechanisms used for promotion of nutrition research. A strong Nutrition Education component and a Nutrition Information Service are central to the attainment of our educational objectives including research on the development, an evaluation of educational methodologies. The CNRU Research Base has expanded more than ten times. Over forty project (twenty-eight are active grants/contracts, and seventeen are in nutrition and cancer benefit from CNRU support via access to Core services, or through funding as CNR pilot projects. The CNRU collaborates with the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB an with faculty from clinical and basic sciences Departments campus-wide. Ten collaborative projects with other Universities or Research Institutes, including three CNRU' (UCLA, UC-Davis and Vanderbilt University) and a university abroad, are in progress Recent scientific accomplishments include: Demonstration of improvement in pre-neoplastic lesions of the cervix and the bronchial epithelium by folate and B12 supplementation; complete prevention of experimental mammary cancer in rats by combination estrogen/progesterone treatment; synthesis and evaluation of new potential chemo-preventive retinoids; discovery of a new bone cell-attachment protein possibly in volved in cancer promotion; demonstration of initiation-facilitation of experimental mammary carcinogenesis by ethanol; synthesis of a new type of antisickling compounds development of new methods for the study of body composition, and more. Major additions to our Core facilities include animal facilities for cancer research, and a computerized Image Analysis laboratory soon to become operational.
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