Post by UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science

In more UCD Research news, Professor Lorraine Brennan has been awarded €900,230 for her project: "Ultra-processed Foods, Diet Quality, and Cardiometabolic Health: An Inter-disciplinary TransAtlantic Collaborative Project" The project is part of a joint funding investment of over €8.3m million which has been allocated to six projects through the latest round of the US-Ireland R&D Partnership Programme. The project is led by Professor Brennan with Co-applicants Professor Jayne Woodside and Dr Qi Sun and will partner with Queen's University Belfast and Harvard University The project will examine how ultra-processed foods (UPFs) affect heart health. While UPFs make up a large part of modern diets, particularly in the United States, not all UPFs may have the same impact on health. The researchers will compare different UPFs within healthy dietary patterns to better understand their effects on human health. The findings are anticipated to strengthen the evidence base for dietary guidelines and help inform more effective public health policies. Professor Brennan was also part of the multi-million-euro package of research awards which was unveiled on Friday (30th April) for 30 new pioneering research projects for the agri-food, forest and bioeconomy sectors by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon TD, and Minister of State with special responsibility for Research and Development Noel Grealish TD. The team received €1,572,560 for the project Protein-I-2 – Advancing Ireland’s Sustainable Protein Transition.