Zinc-Net research gathers pace

Professor Nicola Lowe recently travelled to Spain to chair the latest Zinc-Net project meeting.

Colleagues from across Europe gathered in Granada for the three-day event which featured a series of discussion groups and presentations investigating Zinc biomarkers.

Leading nutrition expert Professor Bob Cousins was amongst the keynote speakers, offering fascinating insights live by Skype from Florida. Professor Cousins spoke about the issue of biomarkers from human studies of zinc status, to biomarkers of disease, and novel methodologies.

Network Coordinator Dr Marisol Warthon-Medina accompanied Professor Lowe to the event, which was part of ongoing research into the role of zinc in human biochemistry and physiology.

Zinc-Net, the 'Network for zinc in Biology', received £500,000 from the European Commission to fund the research over a four-year period.

Spanish trip cements future collaborations

UCLan SENS staff and students teamed up with colleagues from UCLan's School of Psychology for a study visit to Spain.

As part of the European Union's Erasmus+ scheme the group travelled to the Universidad de Extremadura to get a taster of the facilities on campus.

The students toured the Sport and Health Science department, as well taking a look around the food science and sensory laboratories.

The trip also provided first and second year undergraduates with the opportunity to conduct research as part of a study module.

A number of future collaborations are planned, with Spanish students making the return trip to UCLan this summer to work on research projects with Dr Howard Hurst and Dr Jonathan Sinclair, whilst a group from our Nutrition and Exercise Sciences programme are scheduled for a longer visit to Spain during the next academic year.

To view a selection of images from the trip please click here.