Dr. Curtis Tilves (Research Associate in the Department of Epidemiology/Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus), was recently awarded a Career Development Award from American Heart Association to study “Food Genomics and Multi-Omics to Objectively Characterize Dietary Pattern Associations with Cardiometabolic Health”. Dr. Tilves proposes an approach that analyzes food DNA (i.e., food genomics) in feces, offering a more reliable way to measure diet (given traditional dietary recall measurement methods can be inaccurate). The study uses data from a randomized cross-over feeding trial (DASH4D; NCT04286555) where participants followed either the DASH diet or a typical American diet. By combining food DNA with gut microbes, metabolomics, and clinical data, Dr. Tilves aims to validate these food genomic biomarkers for quantifying plant food diversity and DASH dietary intake, compare their associations with cardiometabolic health vs. traditional self-reported diet, and explain varied health responses to the DASH diet intervention.
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