The Rowett Institute

19/03/2026

Well if there's one nutrient we're not short of today it's Vitamin D as the Granite City gives an absolutely sparkling welcome to guests arriving for the start of the Biofortification: From Science to Society conference!

Wendy Russell and colleagues are delighted to be hosting experts from right across the UK for a packed two-day programme of talks discussions and networking here in Aberdeen's magnificent townhouse.

Topics will include:

Big Challenges in Biofortification
Biofortifying our Supply Chain
New Biofortification Hub projects
Nutrition and Consumer Perception
Reformulation and Regulation

Public Engagement at University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition - University of Aberdeen Aberdeen City Council

17/03/2026

How we ensure the health benefits of losing weight are not offset by a reduction in crucial body strength is one of the key questions surrounding new anti-obesity drugs.

We are investigating potential therapies that could help people maintain the right amount of muscle during – and importantly after – using GLP-1-based medications.

Is this something you are interested in – as a patient, a medical professional, a scientist, a business or just someone keen to know more before taking that weight loss path?

If so, Dr Brendan Gabriel and colleagues would love you to complete this very short, anonymous, survey: https://research.typeform.com/to/sadiQABW?typeform-source=lnkd.in

Your answers will be invaluable in shaping our research to the concerns and priorities of those who could directly benefit from it. They will help us better understand concern about muscle and strength loss, what outcomes matter most and how acceptable potential therapies and costs would be.

It should not take any longer than two minutes to fill out.

13/03/2026

A pleasure to be involved in such a fantastic event showcasing so much of Scotland's talent in all quarters of producing healthier, more sustainable bread.

17/02/2026

The Rowett Institute is looking for participants to support important research into how age and gender influence weight loss.

📣 Who can take part?

We’re seeking:
• Men and women aged 18–40 and 55–65
• Living with overweight or obesity, but otherwise healthy

🍽️ All meals are provided as part of the study.

If you’d like to learn more or are interested in volunteering, please get in touch with the research team:

📧 [email protected]
📞 01224 438664

Your participation could help shape future understanding of weight management and support vital health research.

16/02/2026

Women over 55 with diagnosed COPD and a BMI of at least 18.5 - we need you!

We are looking for volunteers to help us understand links between protein in the diet, levels of muscle and body fat and lung function.

It is part of research into a health problem known as sarcopenic obesity, which can happen when we lose muscle and gain body fat.

Recently we found that eating more protein, from both animal and plant-based foods, reduces your risk of getting sarcopenic obesity.

We also found that those with sarcopenic obesity have a higher risk of a decreased lung function.

Taking part involves making just one visit to us here at our purpose-built trial suite in Aberdeen.

You will find full details about what is involved and how you can play your part in the journey towards improving people's health as they got older here:

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/rowett/volunteer/current-studies/proso-copd-study/

If you are unsure of your BMI, the NHS website has a useful calculator here: https://www.nhs.uk/health-assessment-tools/calculate-your-body-mass-index/

NHS Grampian University of Aberdeen School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition - University of Aberdeen

As we get older, we may start to lose muscle tissue and gain more body fat. When this happens at the same time, this could lead to a health problem called sarcopenic obesity.  We have ways to assess whether you are likely to have sarcopenic obesity, by measuring your fat-free body mass, and your bo...

05/02/2026

Can walking around with your head in the clouds ever be a recipe for scientific success?

It can when you’ve gone 3,000-plus metres up into the Andes to meet the only community growing a particular blend of purple corn at that altitude!

Dr Madalina Neacsu counts that as one of the many highlights of a “memorable and highly productive” trip with research technician Kim Moar to Peru to develop their Innovate UK- funded research on the use of traditional South American crops to boost dietary health in the UK.

One of the five workshops they delivered across Lima, Cajamarca, Matara and Ichocan included farmers from a remote area who are part of the only association successfully cultivating the INIA 601 purple corn variety above 3,000 metres. (9,842 feet - or around two and a quarter Ben Nevises - or should that be Bens Nevis?!).

“Their pride, resilience and determination were deeply motivating, and sharing our new research findings with them, seeing these reinforce their commitment to continue thriving, was one of the most meaningful moments of the trip,” says Madi.

“This engagement not only fulfilled our project obligations and non-monetary obligations under Nagoya protocol with Peru but strengthened long term relationships built on shared scientific goals, cultural exchange and mutual respect."

Madi says the experience was “as enriching personally as it was professionally, engaging with La Molina University, government partners at INIA (National Institute of Agricultural Research), and farming communities cultivating purple corn and yacon.

“Alongside presenting the project’s main findings, we also showcased the Rowett’s expertise, infrastructure and facilities, including our research on h**p, which generated strong interest for future collaboration. We were also welcomed into INIA’s research facilities in Lima and Cajamarca, where visits to germination units, seed banks, biobanks, experimental fields, GMO analysis laboratories and nutritional and chemical analysis labs opened constructive discussions on ongoing and potential joint research.

“The warmth and curiosity of everyone we met from scientists, officials, and farmers alike, was inspiring and reaffirmed the value of sustained international partnerships.”

The pair were also lucky enough to find themselves in Lima at time of the Pervuian Festival of Coffee and Chocolate.

“It was an amazing opportunity,” says Kim - her mouth watering just at the memory. The choice of roast and blends were almost overwhelming a truly memorable experience.”

The team is now recruiting volunteers for a human study of the potential benefits of consuming foods prepared from Peruvian crops like purple corn and yacon, on gut and metabolic health.

Click here to find out more about the study and how to volunteer https://abdn.site/PurpleFoodsStudy

30/01/2026

Come along to these great family-friendly events and have fun finding out more about our research..

It's less than 2 weeks until our Founders' week full of events and we are busy planning lots for you to see and do!

Over the next week we are featuring some of the activities on offer at our Family Discovery Day..

Today's activity spotlight:

What do we really focus on when looking at art?

Come and visit us to find out more by testing a wearable eye tracker that records the movements of our pupils while looking at artwork.

28/01/2026

We’re conducting a study to explore how swapping red meat for fish or plant-based foods impacts diet, health, and sustainability. By taking part, you’ll also help us better understand the challenges and opportunities of adopting more sustainable eating habits.

We’re looking for:

People living in Scotland aged 18-plus who eat meat on six or seven days a week with access to a smartphone, tablet, or computer

What’s Involved?

Nominating three days per week to be meet free for two months, filling in daily questionnaires and weekly food diaries and talking our research team about the challenges.

Click or go to bio for links to find out more https://abdn.site/LESSMeat

27/01/2026

Congratulations to renowned Rowett gut microbiology expert Harry Flint who has been honoured with the prestigious Gowland Hopkins Award.

honoured the retired researcher, whose work remains among the most cited in the world, at its recent Winter Conference.

Named after Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, who won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of vitamins and was a founder of the Society, the trophy goes to senior scientists who have made a "major contribution" in cellular and molecular nutrition.

Emeritus Professor Flint, who has two bacteria named in honour of his pioneering work, said it was "a surprise and a real honour” to be recognised.

In an address to the meeting - also attended by Frank Thies - he delivered a highlights reel of a quarter century of breakthroughs in the microbial breakdown of fibre in the rumen and human colon and on anaerobic metabolism, touching on genomics, microbial ecology, human dietary studies, model systems (chemostats) and theoretical modelling.

He highlighted "key contributions" from colleagues including Sylvia Duncan, Petra Louis, Alan Walker, Marco Rincon, PhD, Alex Johnstone, Karen Scott, Grietje Holtrop, Helen Kettle and others.

Prof Flint is pictured being presented with the trophy by Nutrition Society Honorary Officer, Prof Andrew Salter at the The Royal Society in London.

12/01/2026

Olive oil shots. Chia seed water. Sea moss gel. Bone broth,

Any of these on your new year health kick shopping list?
Keen to hear from an expert about the pros and cons?

Rowett Institute gut microbiologist and renowned microbiome myth-buster Professor Alan Walker is here to help – via the BBC’s award-winning “What In The World?” podcast with William Lee Adams and Caroline Steel.

(Listen back here: https://abdn.site/Bcte1 )

His basic message?

🔬 There is not (yet at least) any compelling evidence that any of them benefit the gut microbiome of everyone who takes them.

🕰️ Short-term tinkering with your diet is unlikely to have a lasting impact. To improve your gut microbiome for life, you probably need to change your diet for life.

🫘 For most people, eating a wider variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, pulses etc is likely the best thing you can do to boost your gut microbiome. (Though some people’s bodies cannot tolerate fibre, so this doesn’t work for everyone, unfortunately.)

Hope that helps. Stay tuned to all our channels for the latest research and analysis of all things nutrition.

06/01/2026

Happy New Year from everyone here at the Rowett Institute.

It's our 112th year but we're feeling as full of beans as ever (mostly because we know what an important source of dietary fibre they are!).

You can find out more about why fibre is one of the most helpful things you can focus on when it comes to keeping yourself feeling young in an excellent new round-up from the BBC's Melissa Hogenboom - part of a wider "ageing well" project that Karen Scott and Julian Griffin contributed expertise to.

https://abdn.site/MlkLS

It's going to be an exciting year for us and all our research partners in SEFARI Gateway and beyond, as we continue the search for practical ways we can help shape a food system that makes people - and the planet - healthier.

We look forward to sharing the results of our work with you over the coming months - and to hearing your thoughts and collaboration suggestions.