National Analytical Facility for Nutrition and Metabolism Research inaugurated
The new facility has been established under the ambit of TIFR/ARUMDA (Advanced Research Unit on Metabolism, Development, and Aging), a first-of-its-kind multidisciplinary research centre dedicated to cutting-edge research in metabolism, nutrition, and aging.
This pioneering hub bridges basic science and clinical research, uniting biologists, physicians, and public health experts to address India's most pressing health challenges - anaemia, obesity, diabetes, and double-burden malnutrition, informed ARUMDA principal investigator and coordinator Ullas Kolthur.
The unit is considered to be the first multi-disciplinary dedicated research unit in the country to address metabolic/life-style diseases by bridging basic biology, epidemiology, community health and clinical research, he said.
The main theme is to address genetic, dietary and geographical diversities, which along with socio-economic disparities and rapidly changing lifestyles, are leading to an explosive rise in the incidence of metabolic syndromes and age-associated diseases, explained Dr. Kolthur, also Director of Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), here in the city.
The facility is equipped with advanced technologies to support both clinical and pre-clinical studies for anaemia research and micronutrient deficiencies/supplementation, obesity and metabolic disorders via body composition analysis and measuring energy expenditure; diabetes and metabolic health using high-resolution metabolomics, targeted metabolomics, and metallomics, double-burden malnutrition (coexisting undernutrition and obesity) etc.
It will also be supporting national health programs like Anaemia 'Mukt Bharat' – enhancing strategies to combat iron deficiency; 'POSHAN Abhiyaan' – tackling malnutrition through precision nutrition research and 'Ayushman Bharat' – strengthening preventive and metabolic healthcare.
Besides, the facility is also being utilised to serve an ICMR centre of advanced research on 'Normative Baseline for Childhood Development in India,' and the technologies are used for setting standards for early-life metabolic health and growth trajectories, he said.
'TIFRH mandates that fundamental research should benefit applications to socially relevant issues with Arumda being a prime example', said Centre director M. Krishnamurthy. 'With this facility, Indian researchers will gain a comprehensive understanding of metabolic health, further fuel efforts in implementing informed dietary interventions and aid in alleviating malnutrition in the country,' added ARUMDA principal investigator & coordinator Mahendra Sonawane.
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