Kien Lab Research
Research Interests
- Dietary fatty acids cognitive function. These studies are being conducted
in collaboration with Julie Dumas, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, UVM
- Effects of long- and short-chain fatty acids on metabolism. This work includes studies of dietary saturated fat (palmitic acid) and monounsaturated fat (oleic acid)
- Colonic fermentation of carbohydrate and its effects on the colonic microbiota and risks of obesity and type 2 diabetes
Research Goals
- To determine how ingestion of dietary fatty acids may
alter the risks of cognitive decline with aging, obesity, cardiovascular
disease, and type 2 diabetes
- To determine if the ingestion of carbohydrates and
perhaps dietary fats alter the metabolic activity of the colonic microbiota
Types of Research Performed
Human Translational Research: Our research is now particularly
focused on studies of older adults at the UVM Clinical Research Center. We are
studying the effects of dietary palmitic and oleic acid on the aging brain in
collaboration with Dr. Dumas; research methods include clinical trial
methodology, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and measures of memory,
executive function, mental stress, and mood.
Past and future studies with Dr. Poynter, which utilize the same cohort
of older adults, involve evaluation of inflammatory cytokine secretion by
stimulated monocytes as well as circulating concentrations of the same
cytokines. In collaboration with Dr. Santoro at Yale, we also have been using
stable isotopes to quantify, in adolescents, fermentation of carbohydrate by
the colonic microbiota.