WIT centre to research importance of nutrition

A budget of €15m over the next four years has been projected for a research centre at Waterford Institute of Technology which will examine the importance of nutrition to a number of human health issues.

The School of Health Sciences at the institute will today announce the establishment of a 26-member Nutrition Research Centre Ireland which will conduct research expected to have an international impact.

Over 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers have already been published by the centre’s researchers covering areas such as the effect of nutrition on eyesight, cancer treatment, brain function and substance misuse. Designation of the centre at the institute has been led by John Nolan, internationally recognised in nutrition and macular (eye) health; John Wells who is head of the School of Health Sciences and Marie Claire Van Hout, an expert in the field of substance use and human enhancement.