Danone North America Spearheads Research Advancements with Annual Fellowship Grants for Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotic Studies

Danone North America marks 12^th year of awarding $50,000 to graduate students to explore the critical role of the gut microbiome, yogurt and probiotics in human health.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. and BROOMFIELD, Colo., Jan. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Danone North America, the purpose-driven food and beverage leader, is proud to announce that for the 12^th year in a row, it will award two graduate students $25,000 each for conducting research to further study the role of the gut microbiome, yogurt and probiotics for human health. Scientists in the field have found that the microbial community, or microbiome of the gut, affects not only gastrointestinal health, but has links to the brain, immune system and even our circadian clocks. The health of the gut microbiome has also been associated with certain chronic disease risk, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.  

"Research plays a critical role in advancing our knowledge of the human gut microbiome," says Miguel Freitas, PhD, Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Danone North America. "Danone North America is a top food company in the U.S. with a vast offering of essential dairy and plant-based foods. Over the past 12 years we have been pleased to award grants to further human health research to help us learn more about how the foods we eat impact our gut microbiome and our health."

The science behind understanding what a "healthy" human microbiome looks like, how it is controlled or how it can be changed is an evolving area of research. Recipients of the Danone North America Fellowship Grant support these efforts by exploring how the gut microbiome, yogurt and probiotics help sustain human health and wellness through growth, development, and longevity.

"Danone North America strives to bring health through food to the public," says Dr. Freitas. "The research grants are a way to advance science and make meaningful progress in using food to nourish lives and sustain a healthier world for all."

As a public benefit corporation (PBC) and one of the largest B Corps in the world, Danone North America is committed to use business as a force for good, balancing financial interests with social and environmental benefits for people, communities, and the planet. In 2022, Danone North America committed to invest $4 million by 2030, in collaboration with the White House Conference on Hunger and Nutrition to enhance nutrition and food security research. The 2024 Fellowship Grants for Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotic studies are a part of this commitment.

About Danone North America
Danone North America is a purpose-driven company and an industry leader in the food and beverage category. As a Certified B Corporation®, Danone North America is committed to the creation of both economic and social value, while nurturing natural ecosystems through regenerative agriculture. Our strong portfolio of brands includes: Activia®, DanActive®, Danimals®, Dannon®, evian®, Happy Family® Organics, Honest to Goodness®, Horizon® Organic, International Delight®, Light + Fit®, Oikos®, Silk®, So Delicious® Dairy Free, STōK®, Two Good®, Wallaby® Organic, and YoCrunch®. With more than 6,000 employees and 16 production locations across the U.S. and Canada, Danone North America's mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. For more information on Danone North America's B Corp™ status visit: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/danone-north-america/.

About the 2023-2024 Danone Fellowship Grant 
The program is currently accepting applications until March 1, 2024. To qualify, individuals must be incoming or current graduate students who have demonstrated an interest in exploring the gut microbiome, probiotics and yogurt to better understand how they help support and maintain human health and wellness. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, show proof of U.S. residence, and be able to utilize the scholarship funds during the 2024 academic year at an accredited U.S. institution, pending COVID-19 guidelines. All applicants will be required to submit an application that includes answers to essay questions, recommendations from two faculty members, and proof of good academic standing. The application and full scholarship details are available here.

The recipients to-date:

2022 Winners:

Madison Adamthwaite of Harvard University plans to use the grant to identify the molecular mechanisms by which microbiome-derived metabolites alter health with a particular focus on gallic acid, a metabolite shown to protect from cardiovascular events and other health concerns.

Nam Than of The University of Texas at Austin plans to conduct research using the grant to better understand how Next-Generation Probiotics (NGP) play a role in maintaining gut homeostasis, and perhaps even disease prevention.

2021 Winners:
Elena Kozlova of University of California, Riverside used the grant to study the effects of maternal administration of probiotics on offspring's gut-brain axis and the relationship to socioemotional development in an environmental toxicant model.

Yannis Ntekas of Cornell University used the grant to leverage single-cell RNA sequencing technologies to effectively profile the gut microbiome with cell-phenotype resolution.

2020 Winners: 
Catherine Shelton of Vanderbilt University used the grant to support her research into the role of early-life microbiota metabolites in host health to gain a deeper mechanistic understanding of how the early-life microbiota protects against obesity.

Alice Solomon of the University of Arizona used the grant to investigate the mechanisms of probiotic function in the gut microbiome as a mediator of cardiovascular disease and other related complications that arise during menopause.

2019 Winners:
Erica Kosmerl of The Ohio State University used her grant to research and examine the impact of dairy intake and bifidobacteria on the gut microbiome during infancy.

Elizabeth Morrison of Indiana University used her grant to research and assess the role of probiotic, B. Infantis on infant gut microbiome.

2018 Winners:
Megan Kennedy of the Medical Scientist Training Program at University of Chicago used her grant to take a closer look at whether or not there is a particular time in a person's 24-hour cycle when probiotics are best able to remain in the gut community.

Nick Jensen of the University of California Davis doctoral program studied how related types of beneficial bacteria breakdown different carbohydrates in the foods we eat, specifically milk oligosaccharides.

2017 Winners:
Caroline Kelsey of the University of Virginia used her grant funds to examine how gut bacteria and food intake influence brain development.

Yeonwoo Lebovitz of Virginia Tech used the grant to assess how a mother's gut microbiome can affect and protect their baby's neurological development.

2016 Winners:
Erin Davis of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was granted funds for her study of probiotic yogurt consumption during breastfeeding on the immune and microbial composition of the milk, as well as on maternal and infant gut microbiota.

Haley Chatelaine of The Ohio State University earned the grant to advance the field by using cutting-edge analyses to identify the chemical signature of probiotic yogurt.

2015 Winner:
Micah Eimerbrink, Experimental Psychology doctoral candidate at Texas Christian University focusing on Behavioral Neuroscience. He used the funds to collaborate with Dr. Jonathan Oliver's Kinesiology lab to investigate the use of probiotics to reduce the psychological and physiological indicators of stress in military personnel.

2014 Winner: 
Amanda Ford, University of Florida, used the grant to investigate the effects of protein fermentation on the human microbiota and on different measures of digestive health both with and without probiotic consumption.

2013 Winner: 
Kurt Selle, North Carolina State University Functional Genomics doctoral candidate within the Food Science, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Science Department. He used the funds to develop technology for studying the adaptation of fermentative microbes to milk, publishing his findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and presenting the results at the 11th International Symposium on Lactic Acid Bacteria as an invited speaker. Since receiving the award, to date, Selle has presented research at four international conferences and published eight research articles.

2012 Winner: 
Nicholas Bokulich, doctoral candidate with the Dr. David Mills Research Group at University of California, Davis. He applied the funds towards researching the use of foods as a delivery vector for beneficial bacteria in the human diet. This work led to several publications investigating the microbiome, food production and human health.

Media contact:
Christina Deecken
[email protected]

SOURCE Danone North America