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Andy Salter

Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry, Faculty of Science

Contact

  • workRoom B23 North Laboratory
    Sutton Bonington Campus
    Sutton Bonington
    Leicestershire
    LE12 5RD
    UK
  • work0115 951 6120
  • fax0115 951 6122

Biography

Prof Andy Salter, Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry, Faculty of Science

Andy Salter is a Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry in the School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham. He is currently the Director of the University's Future Food Beacon.and has served two terms as Head of Division of Nutritional Sciences (2006-2009 and 2012-2018). He is a Registered Nutritionist and also a Trustee of the UK Academy of Nutrition Sciences.

Research Interests

He has worked extensively on the molecular mechanisms whereby diet impacts on lipid metabolism and metabolic disease, particularly cardiovascular disease. In parallel, he has developed a research portfolio looking at the sustainable production of healthy foods to meet the demands of the expanding and ageing global population.

He is Director of the Future Food Beacon which is an open research platform working across global food systems to help deliver sustainable food and nutritional security. This has provided funding for the Future Protein Platform which aims to evaluate novel systems for production of novel protein sources (plant, single cell organisms and insects), to assess their nutritional value and to develop their use as human foods and animal feeds.

Teaching Summary

I teach on a number of both undergraduate and postgraduate taught masters courses including

Nutrition, Metabolism & Disease (BSc)/ Nutrition and Metabolism (MSc):

Metabolic Syndrome

Lipoprotein Metabolism

Cardiovascular Disease

Healthy People/Healthy Planet (BSc & MSc)

Sustainable Agriculture/Livestock Production

Meeting Global Protein Demands

Research Summary

My long-term research interests focus on the impact of diet on chronic metabolic disease. In particular, I am interested in how diet impacts on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and how this… read more

Selected Publications

Current Research

My long-term research interests focus on the impact of diet on chronic metabolic disease. In particular, I am interested in how diet impacts on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and how this influences susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Much of my work has been associated understanding the role of the liver in regulating lipid metabolism and, with the rapid rise in the occurrence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the interaction of diet and lifestyle and genetic factors in the development of fatty liver has become a major focus our our work.

I have also developed a parallel research portfolio associated with Global Food Security. This has specifically focused on the sustainable production of novel sources of dietary lipids and proteins, as both human foods and feeds for aquaculture and farm animal production. With a combination of funding from government (including British Council and Innovate UK), and industry, this has included studies looking at strategies to reduce the over-consumption of red meat (in collaboration with Marlow Foods), the use of insects as a replacement of fishmeal in aquaculture (in collaboration with Crops for the Future, Malaysia) and as feed for farm animals (in collaboration with ABAgri). We are also working with the largest Insect producer in the UK (Monkfield Nutrition) to increase efficiency of insect production.

Past Research

In 1982 I completed my PhD studies at Guy's Hospital Medical School (University of London) looking at looking at lipoprotein metabolism and cardiovascular disease in patients with Diabetes Mellitus. I then moved to the University of Toronto, Canada where I extended this work to look at changes in lipoprotein metabolism associated with obesity. In 1984 I moved to the University of Nottingham Medical School to take up a British Heart Foundation Fellowship focussed on dietary and hormonal control of hepatic lipid and lipoprotein metabolism.

On moving to the School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham in 1989, to take up a lectureship, with funding from Leverhulme Trust, British Heart Foundation and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, I continued to study the molecular mechanisms whereby diet impacts on lipid metabolism in relation to metabolic disease. This work has also been extended to look at how the fat and fatty acid composition of animal products (meat and milk) can me manipulated to produce healthier products.

Future Research

Our work on novel protein sources has led to the recent £1 million investment of the University of Nottingham, Future Foods Beacon in the Future Protein Platform. The aim of which is to evaluate novel systems for production of plant and non-plant protein sources, to assess their nutritional value and to develop their use for animal feeds (including aquaculture) and/or human consumption. We are currently developing this platform with colleagues across the University working on under-utilized plants, insects bacteria and fungi as future protein sources

School of Biosciences

University of Nottingham
Sutton Bonington Campus
Nr Loughborough
LE12 5RD, UK

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