Losing muscle mass is a common risk when battling cancer, but it can be extra challenging for women dealing with breast or gynecological cancers.
Physiological hurdles for women, such as hormonal shifts during menopause and the side-effects of certain cancer treatments, can worsen muscle loss and disrupt how the body uses energy.
Poor muscle mass is proven to pose a higher risk of health complications and even death in people with cancer, so it’s crucial for women to tip the scales in their favour through a strategic diet, says Carla Prado, a University of Alberta nutrition researcher.
“It’s important that they get the right amount of energy and protein they need to stay healthy, and we need to fill a critical gap in cancer care, offering tailored interventions that improve muscle health and overall well-being,” says Prado, a professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences.
Now, women grappling with these types of cancer will be able to get more personalized nutrition advice, through Prado’s work as a new Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC). She is one of 11 U of A researchers receiving new or renewed Canada Research Chairs.
A Tier 1 Canada Research Chair runs for seven years and can be renewed once. Recipients receive $200,000 per year for their research programs.
As Canada Research Chair in Integrative Nutrition, Body Composition and Energy Metabolism, Prado aims to create practical resources that improve nutrition and support health. For her work with women surviving cancer, she will also use a digital wellness platform developed by U of A Alumni Innovation Award recipient Loreen Wales that offers personalized advice on eating well, staying active and managing stress.
As well, Prado, director of the U of A’s Human Nutrition Research Unit, will leverage her CRC to advance precision nutrition, working closely with patients, dietitians and fellow CRC David Wishart to make tailored dietary advice more accessible and effective not just for women with cancers, but also the broader population.
“We want to explore how cutting-edge ‘omics’ techniques like metabolomics, as well as artificial intelligence and new body composition technology, can help provide a precise understanding of energy and protein needs for people with cancer in ways that have not been done before.”
The research will build on her lab’s extensive work, which has improved understanding of energy metabolism for weight and muscle maintenance in cancer, and shown that nutrition is not only important to patients, but can be optimized to improve muscle mass.
Through her CRC work, Prado will create several practical resources to benefit patients, including a new cookbook of plant-based protein recipes to accompany an existing one with healthy protein-boosting recipes for people with cancer, featuring animal-based proteins.
Prado and her team will also continue producing educational videos that simplify complex concepts, such as how our bodies use energy and the importance of muscle mass, for easy sharing with patients and health-care providers in settings like cancer clinics.
The cookbooks and videos are also being produced in multiple languages to reach people worldwide, making them “as accessible as possible,” Prado adds.
As well, her CRC research will help inform formal guidelines for health-care professionals, offering clear recommendations on measuring and managing patients’ body composition and energy needs.
“This gives dietitians and clinicians evidence-based tools for improving patient care,” says Prado, adding that her CRC provides the opportunity to “drive meaningful change in health care.
“Ultimately, it’s the chance to transform how we care for patients with or surviving cancer, and to have a real-world impact so people can live longer and better lives.”
Prado is a member of the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta, the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute, the Alberta Diabetes Institute, the Alberta Transplant Institute and the Institute of Sensory Motor Rehabilitative Technology.
Three new Tier 2 Canada Research Chairs
Three U of A researchers are receiving new Tier 2 Canada Research Chair appointments. Tier 2 chairs are for five years and can be renewed once. The recipients receive $120,000 per year for their research programs.
Anne Hicks, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Children’s Lung Health, is an associate professor of pediatric respiratory medicine in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, and the clinical lead of the Stollery Children’s Environmental Health Clinic, a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre, at the U of A. She studies how to address the risks of indoor and outdoor air pollution to children, caused by such factors as wildfire smoke.
Sarah Nickel, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Politics and Gender, is an associate professor in the Faculty of Arts. Her work aims to support the efforts of Indigenous scholars, communities and organizations to research, record and share their own histories in meaningful ways. A combination of two proposed community-based projects will address overlapping issues relating to Indigenous politics, gender and community engagement, will offer significant training opportunities and will have public and academic dissemination plans.
Meghan Riddell, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Maternal-Fetal Interface Biology in Health and Disease, is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry examining placental development. Poor formation or function can cause pregnancy complications, including recurrent miscarriage and pre-eclampsia. Riddell’s work examines how cellular processes contribute to the development of complications and how poor adaptation of maternal blood vessels in the uterus to pregnancy may increase the risk of complications in older expecting people.
Renewed Canada Research Chairs at U of A
Seven other U of A researchers are seeing their Canada Research Chairs renewed:
Michael Gänzle, professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences, renewed Canada Research Chair in Food Microbiology and Probiotics (Tier 1)
Hongbo Zeng, professor, Faculty of Engineering, renewed Canada Research Chair in Intermolecular Forces and Interfacial Science (Tier 1)
Stephane Bourque, associate professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, renewed Canada Research Chair in Maternal and Perinatal Physiology (Tier 2)
Bo Cao, associate professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, renewed Canada Research Chair in Computational Psychiatry (Tier 2)
Caroline Richard, associate professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences, renewed Canada Research Chair in Nutritional Immunology (Tier 2)
Qiumin Tan, associate professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, renewed Canada Research Chair in Molecular Genetics of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (Tier 2)
Anastassia Voronova, associate professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, renewed Canada Research Chair in Neural Stem Cell Biology (Tier 2)