Course Overview

Cancer is one of the main causes of illness-related death in many countries, including Brazil. Despite current therapeutic advances, the prognosis of patients diagnosed with this pathologic condition is still poor. Thus, an effective method for controlling cancer is preventing its development, which can be achieved by the diet or by the intervention with nutrients and/or BFCs in subjects with high risk of cancer development. Several genes have shown altered expression during carcinogenesis and are considered targets for nutrients and/or bioactive compounds in the context of cancer prevention. The understanding of the mechanisms involved in the modulation of gene expression by nutrients and/or BFCs, is fundamental for the design of research projects that deepen the knowledge of graduate students in Food Science and related areas, and for the development of strategies for nutritional intervention in the context of cancer prevention.

Learning Achievement

To empower graduate students to understand how nutrients and bioactive food compounds (BFCs) modulate the expression of genes involved in cancer’s physio-pathology.

Competence

Course prerequisites

Grading Philosophy

Participation in the discussions.

Course schedule

1) Basic “OMICS” tools for Nutrigenomics studies; 2) Molecular targets for cancer chemoprevention; 3) Functional foods and cancer prevention; 4) Modulation of the epigenetic processes by nutrients and BFCs; 5) Modulation of the expression of micro-RNAs by nutrients and BFCs; 6) Molecular aspects of the relationship between obesity, nutrition and cancer prevention

Course type

Online Course Requirement

Instructor

Fernando Salvador Moreno, Thomas Prates Ong, Jens Uwe Marquardt

Other information

The discipline will have the collaboration of Dr. Renato Heidor, specialist of The Diet Nutrition and Cancer Laboratory, Department of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of S_o Paulo.

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