Two New Predoctoral Research Fellowships

Jueves, 22 de marzo de 2018

Start your PhD with MoBioFood!!

The Universitat Rovira i Virgili calls for applications for 28 new predoctoral research fellowships.

The researchers are part of the Martí i Franquès COFUND Fellowship Programme which is jointly funded by the European Union. The call for applications is open from 20 March to 20 May 2018.

MoBioFood Research group has two available positions:

2018MFP-COFUND-41 and 2018MFP-COFUND-52

Area: Health Sciences

Supervisor: Maria Teresa Blay i Olivé

Project title: Preventive long-lasting effects of food bioactives on gastrointestinal tract under metabolic homeostatic challenges: obesogenic diet and aging.

Description of the research project:

Loss of quality of life in individuals is associated with loss of metabolic robustness. This is now a problem in developed societies and a growing phenomena in developing countries due to high food availability but also due to a longer life expectancy. Previous results from our group in rodents indicate that subchronic treatments with proanthocyanidins may act as preventives against metabolic distortions induced by an obesogenic diet and that this effectiveness may have a relatively prolonged duration (longer than eight weeks). These healthy effects are observed on general aspects such as body weight, adiposity and type of oxidative substrate, but also on specific parameters of intestinal wall functionality, such as physiological barrier or immunoenteroendocrine functions.

In this context, we hypothesize that "extracts rich in proanthocyanins, through their interaction with the gastrointestinal tract, could condition the organism`s functionality in a prolonged way, preventing loss of metabolic flexibility associated with metabolic challenges of high incidence in the current population, ageing process".

The general objective of this proposal is to determine the effectiveness and mechanisms by which proanthocyanidins act in the long term on the enteroendocrine and immunoprotective function of the gastrointestinal tract by improving the metabolic homeostasis distorted by ageing process.

Please follow the links below for more information. You can also contact with us by e-mail: mobiofood@urv.cat