Advancing healthcare using the Research Infrastructure CeSAR of UniCa: Nutrition during the first two years of life | EDUC-SHARE Training Workshop (WP2)
- Date: 23-24 November 2023
- Main venue: University of Cagliari, Classroom 204, Block F, Cittadella di Monserrato
On 23 and 24 November, the Training Workshop “Advancing healthcare using the Research Infrastructure CeSAR of UniCa: Nutrition during the first two years of life” has been held in Cagliari within the Lifelong Health and Well-Being topic.
There was broad and enthusiastic on-site participation by researchers and PhD candidates from the EDUC Alliance Universities.
The focus topic of the workshop
Human breast milk is a complex biofluid containing many components, including macronutrients, hormones, and bioactive molecules, each potentially responsible for neonatal outcome, growth, and health. In addition, human breast milk is an important source of commensal bacteria for newborns and represents a dynamic ecosystem for multiple hubs that change during lactation and may influence the development and future disease onset. The composition of human breast milk may therefore have important consequences for the short and long-term development of the newborn.
Highlights of the workshop
The first day was focused on the presentation of the Unica CeSAR facilities, of the Life Sciences Core Facilities at Masaryk University, and possible future cooperation.
Eliška Pivrncová, a Ph.D. candidate from Masaryk University, is one of the selected researchers of the call to access research infrastructures at EDUC universities funded by the EDUC-SHARE project. Her experience using NMR facilities as part of her research project was shared with attendees.
Programme
- Presentation of the Research Infrastructure CeSAR and its facilities – Sabrina Rita Giglio, Director of CeSAR, UniCa
- Presentation of NMR facility – Sandrina Lampis, NMR Facility CeSAR, UniCa
- The metabolomic profiles of infant´s stool and milk – project in cooperation with the NMR facility of CeSAR – Eliška Pivrncová Environmental Genomics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University
- Life Sciences Core Facilities at Masaryk University – case of CEITEC and RECETOX – Hana Seličová, Human Exposome, Faculty of Science Masaryk University.
After all contributions, all attendees visited the CeSAR mass spectrometry laboratory. Giulio Ferino, CeSAR technician, showed some practical sample analyses.
The second day was characterized by the contributions of UniCa professors and researchers.
- Metabolomics in the clinical practice – Luigi Atzori, Full Professor Biomedical Sciences Dept. UniCa
- Lipidomics and its applications in the clinic and nutrition – Pierluigi Caboni, Full Professor, Life and Environmental Sciences Dept. UniCa
- Use of NMR facilities in the clinic and study of infant milk – Flaminia Cesare Marincola Associate Professor, Chemical and Geological Sciences Dept. UniCa
- Microbiome in health and disease – Vanessa Palmas, Biomedical Sciences Dept. UniCa
- Nutrition during pregnancy and infant feeding: a key role for future health – Roberta Pintus, Surgical Sciences Dept. UniCa
Some acknowledge from participants:
“I want to say thank you for this training programme, both for the opportunity and the knowledge I have learned. It is amazing, well above my expectations, and was very informative. Every speaker and presenter was well-versed in their field, friendly, welcoming, and supportive. More scholars and Ph.D. students from Educ collaborators and affiliated universities will benefit, perhaps, from the open opportunities through collaborations, and use of advanced technologies.“ – Girma Alemu Wami, PhD Student, Doctoral School of Health Sciences, University of Pécs.
“The workshop was very informative, and it helped me to learn something about yet not analyzed biological matrice – human breastmilk. As I am more into instrumentation and automatization, this was very insightful. The first day was good for me to see what facilities UniCa has and what may be used by us in future collaborations. The second day was very good in terms of meeting people from different fields – nutrition and more technical fields like NMR.“ – Hana Seličová, PhD Candidate, Researcher, Faculty of Science RECETOX, Masaryk University.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101017526.