Diet interventions: What do we know and how do we know it?

Join us in welcoming SOU Affiliate Professor of Biology, Dr. Carolina Livi, as she discusses diet interventions.

As a follow up to talk June 2018 titled: "Anti-Aging Interventions: What do we know and how do we know it?" this presentation will focus on diet interventions and the validity of health benefit claims made.  We are bombarded with advertisements for special diets and supplements to improve our health with promises of extending our lives. Humans have been in search of the fountain of youth for centuries. With so many health claims in the media about diets and supplements how does one separate the hype from fact? Calorie restriction and fasting diets are getting so much attention in the news. These eating patterns are being studied as possible ways to maintain good health and live longer. Interest in their potential health and aging benefits stems from decades of research with a variety of animals, including round worms, fruit flies, mice and dogs. In many experiments, calorie-restricted feeding delayed the onset of age related diseases and, in some studies, extended lifespan. Given these results in animals, researchers are studying if and how calorie restriction or a fasting diet affects health and lifespan in people. Come hear about the scientific research projects and results in this area to find what what we know and how we know it. 

Dr. Livi received a doctorate in Molecular Developmental Biology from the California Institute of Technology. She was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) in the department of Molecular Medicine. Her research focused on molecular mechanisms of rapamycin treatment in murine cancer models. Dr. Livi currently works at Agilent Technologies, a biotech company, and has joined SOU as Affiliate Professor of Biology.

This is a free event and open to the public. Please visit our website to learn more about our future lecture series topics. Light refreshments provided by the STEM Division.