HuiChuan Lai, PhD, and Cystic Fibrosis Investigators Secure NIH R01 Funding

The investigative team led by Principal Investigator HuiChuan Lai, PhD (Nutritional Sciences), and Co-Investigators Philip Farrell, MD, PhD, and Michael Rock, MD, were recently awarded an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH/NIDDK) in the amount of $3,435,587 over 5 years. This project entitled, “Early Childhood Diet, Growth, Gut Microbiome and Lung Health in Cystic Fibrosis,” will assess the effects of exclusive breastfeeding and preschool diet on growth, nutritional status and pulmonary health in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) through the first 6 years of life and determine if these effects are related to an insufficient essential fatty acid intake from breast milk and variations in gut microbiota. This grant will expand the follow-up of a highly productive, strong multi-center prospective observational study being conducted in a network of 5 CF Centers in 4 states (UT, WI, IN and MA) since 2012.