Sharon Donovan believes that the University of Illinois can offer a unique team science approach to nutrition. That is why she founded the Personalized Nutrition Initiative (PNI), which launched in July 2020.
“With our long-standing strengths in plant, animal and human nutrition coupled with strengths in engineering, behavioral sciences and a bioengineering-focused medical school, we are positioned to have a unique Illinois approach to nutrition discovery and implementation,” said Donovan, a professor and Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Health, director of PNI and Family Resiliency Center (FRC) Collaboratory affiliate. “I have been at the University for 33 years, and I look at PNI as a way to channel my administrative experience and to position Illinois to lead in the emerging field of personalized, or precision, nutrition.”
Precision nutrition is an approach that takes into account factors that vary by individual—such as genetics, environment and behavior—to promote health and wellness and prevent chronic diseases. According to the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan for NIH Nutrition Research, diseases linked to poor diet are the most frequent causes of death in the United States. Precision nutrition foregoes a one-size-fits-all method to diet in favor of tailored nutrition plans that acknowledge individualized responses to foods. Precision nutrition is also highly interested in the gut microbiome, whose composition is influenced by elements of food that are not necessarily nutritive, such as fiber.
At the heart of precision nutrition is team science, a research approach that centers collaboration across and interdependence of disciplines to answer challenging questions. The study of when, why, how and what individuals eat requires diverse sets of expertise and approaches to understand their interrelations. For example, the three projects most recently funded by Illinois’ PNI seed grant program combine investigators with expertise in kinesiology, health informatics, health disparities and software design; in animal science, food science, kinesiology, microbiology and medicine; and in electrical and computer engineering, human development, kinesiology, and public health. The latter represents an award to FRC affiliates Brian Cunningham, Jacinda Dariotis and Jenna Riis, who are prototyping a device to measure the hormonal responses associated with healthy eating decision-making.
“Studies have shown that it takes longer to launch team science collaborations, but once the research gets going, the teams are actually more productive and their research is published in a wider variety of journals and more frequently cited,” Donovan explained. “For me, it is really exciting and gratifying to bring together groups of investigators who wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to work collaboratively.”
Donovan’s passion for precision nutrition and team science originates in her decorated career as a researcher in pediatric nutrition. Her work focuses on understanding the basic components of human milk and its bioactivity and on applying this information to improve the nutrition of both breast- and formula-fed infants. Donovan studies how to mimic the beneficial components of human milk that are not necessarily about nutrition—that is, how proteins, fats and carbohydrates found in human milk influence cognitive and immune development as well as to the development of the microbiome.
“You might see on the label for infant formula, ‘Now with DHA!’ which is docosahexaenoic acid, a long-chain fatty acid that humans can eventually make themselves but that is lower in infants due to their immature enzyme activity,” said Donovan. “Once DHA was added to formula, starting in the 1980s, we saw benefits in brain and retinal development, particularly in preterm infants.”
For Donovan’s research in pediatric nutrition, she was elected in 2017 to the National Academy of Medicine, a distinction that reflects the height of professional achievement and commitment to service.
“The first 1,000 days are so important, and so much personalized nutrition goes into that,” said Donovan. “I like to think about human milk as nature’s personalized nutrition, and I’ve been able to meld those two areas together.”
As of October 2024, PNI is approximately 1,500 days old. With a slew of papers in respected journals, multiple rounds of seed grants administered and proposals to NIH and NSF in development from seed teams, the initiative is ready to take its next steps.
“We’re really hitting our stride now,” said its director.