All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:

Nutritional Psychiatry: recent advances in evidence for diet and nutrition for mental and brain health

Professor Felice N Jacka, Food & Mood Centre, Deakin University, Australia.

Meeting Rooms 1&2, Level 4, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

Download slides of Professor Jacka’s presentation.

Abstract

Unhealthy diet is now the leading cause of early death in men, and number two globally. Professor Jacka has pioneered and led the development of a large and robust body of evidence showing that unhealthy diet is also a key risk factor for psychiatric illnesses such as depression and anxiety and is recognised as a research leader in this new field.

In this presentation, she will provide an up-to-date overview of the evidence regarding the impact of diet on mental and brain health across age groups, countries and cultures. She will then focus on the new research addressing the microbiome-gut-brain axis in mood and behaviour. Finally, she will discuss new evidence for diet as a clinical strategy for improving mental and brain health and discuss the research activities being undertaken at the Food & Mood Centre.

About Professor Jacka

Professor Felice Jacka is director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University. She is founder and president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR) and immediate past president of the Australian Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders (APMD). Professor Jacka has pioneered and led a highly innovative program of research that examines how individuals’ diets interact with the risk for mental health problems. Her current work focuses closely on the links between diet, gut health and mental and brain health. This research is being carried out with the ultimate goal of developing new, evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies for mental disorders. She is listed in the top ten most highly-cited researchers in mood disorders in Australia (Scopus). She has recently published a book for the general public called ‘Brain Changer’ through Pan Macmillan Press and Yellow Kite in the UK.

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