MONTANA: Researchers receive $294,000 NIFA grant to research bile acids
Montana State University faculty Mary Miles, left, professor of health and human development, and Brian Bothner, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, have received a $294,000 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture for ongoing research on the therapeutic impacts of dietary pulses, such as lentils, on bile acids. MSU Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez
New research at Montana State University will examine if foods that are rich in fiber, such as lentils, can help lower unhealthy bile acid levels in the body, which are associated with a range of obesity-related diseases afflicting approximately one-third of U.S. adults.
The research by Mary Miles in MSU’s Department of Health and Human Development is supported by a $294,000, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA. MSU chemistry and biochemistry professor Brian Bothner, who is also scientific director of the Proteomics, Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Facility and director of Montana INBRE, is co-principal investigator on the project.
The research, “Therapeutic Impacts of Dietary Pulses on Bile Acids,” is one of 29 projects that collectively received a total of more than $8.5 million in funding from NIFA. The research and Extension grants are part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and are intended to advance solutions to critically important problems in U.S. agriculture.
Miles and Bothner both said they are looking forward to the work.
“Most of my research involves the study of microorganisms as model systems, so being directly involved with a project that has the potential to immediately improve someone's health is exciting for me,” Bothner said. “And Mary and I have very different backgrounds, which, as it turns out, makes us a very good team.”