The Bionutrition Unit offers a variety of services to investigators with approved protocols. Currently, almost half of active protocols have nutrition components. The Director of Bionutrition Research,
Betty Darnell, is available to assist with planning and designing the nutritional components of research protocols and can assist with implementing the protocol, recruitment/screening of research participants, and data collection and analysis of dietary intake. Ms. Darnell is a registered dietitian who has served in this role for 32 years. Suzanne Choquette, CRU Research Dietitian, and three nutrition PhD graduate students (who are also registered dietitians) are available to assist investigators with their protocols.
The Metabolic Kitchen provides specially designed meals for participants on both inpatient and outpatient studies to meet protocol requirements. There are four research cooks and one diet technician on staff with 50 years of combined experience. They are trained in preparing research meals for participants.
Click here for useful nutrition links and here for Bionutrition Core rates.
Bionutrition Services:
- Research protocol – consultation for design, development, and implementation
- Controlled feeding studies/monitoring participants on controlled diets
- Nutrition education
- Body composition measurements
- Energy expenditure measurements
- Nutrient intake data (using the Minnesota Nutrition Data System for Research software program)
- Calculated research meals for feeding studies
- Meal services for other research participants
Things to consider when developing the nutrition components for a new protocol:
- Type of diet (regular, therapeutic, controlled nutrient(s), research specific)
- Number of subjects on diet
- Number of subjects that will be fed at one time
- How long the participant will be on the diet?
- Are outpatient meals required?
- Does the research diet need to be specially designed to meet protocol needs?
- Do you need nutrition education for the participant?
- Do you need analysis of research participants’ food intakes?
- Do you need anthropometric measurements for the participants?
For further information please contact: Betty Darnell, MS, RD, LD, FADA
bdarnell@uab.edu or 205-975-8972