‘Fighting Fire With Food: An Expert's Inside Look at Nutrition and Inflammation...What Does the Science Say?,’ Subject of UA Arthritis Center Lecture, Sept. 6

Inflammation affects all of us as we age. Painful joints in arthritis, artery-clogging plaques that can cause heart disease, damaged tissues that can become cancerous—excessive, chronic inflammation underlies each of them. This has led to widespread interest in dietary strategies, lifestyle choices and supplements that may reduce inflammation.

A free presentation, “Fighting Fire With Food: An Expert's Inside Look at Nutrition and Inflammation...What Does the Science Say?,” will be held Wednesday, Sept. 6, 6-7:15 p.m., at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, DuVal Auditorium, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson. The 75-minute talk will include time for questions and answers.

Speaker Ann Skulas-Ray, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will discuss inflammation, how it is measured and where research is headed. An expert in the field, Dr. Skulas-Ray will offer evidence-based advice on nutrition as a tool to curb excessive inflammation, while covering the facts, fads and fiction that surround this impactful topic. She also will discuss her current research on fish oil and sort through the facts and hype surrounding this popular “miracle supplement.”

At the conclusion of her lecture, Dr. Skulas-Ray will be joined by Donato Romagnolo, MSc, PhD, UA professor of nutritional and cancer biology, for an epilogue on “The Mediterranean Diet and its Impact on Inflammation.”

Both professors will host the question-and-answer session.

Dr. Skulas-Ray conducts research to understand why clinical studies have not been successful reducing inflammation with omega-3 fatty acid supplementation despite mechanistic evidence of their anti-inflammatory potential. To tackle this riddle, her work has examined whether dose, duration and/or the use of an inflammatory challenge are crucial elements that influence inflammatory outcomes. Her research assesses the effects of increasing the intake of individual omega-3 fatty acids on inflammation and other health outcomes and examines evidence that women may experience greater benefit from supplementation than men. Her studies seek to understand the inconsistency in clinical trial results and optimize the therapeutic potential of omega-3 fatty acids for improving human health. Dr. Skulas-Ray is a reviewer for Nutrition Today, the European Journal of Nutrition, Nutrition Journal, Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, Pharmacy and Therapeutics, American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs and Journal of Clinical Lipdology. She is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters and encyclopedia entries. She has been involved in research projects totaling nearly $3 million in funding.

Seating for the lecture is limited and prior registration is requested. For more information or to register, please visit the UA Arthritis Center website, www.arthritis.arizona.edu, or call 520-626-5040 or email livinghealthy@arthritis.arizona.edu

Parking is available in the Banner – University Medical Center Tucson visitor/patient parking garage just south of the hospital’s main entrance; please bring your parking ticket to the lecture to be validated for free parking.

If you have questions concerning access, wish to request a Sign Language interpreter or disability-related accommodations, please contact Tracy Shake, 520-626-5040, email: livinghealthy@arthritis.arizona.edu

The lecture is part of the “Living Healthy with Arthritis” series of free monthly talks presented by the UA Arthritis Center at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson and supported through the Susan and Saul Tobin Endowment for Research and Education in Rheumatology. Upcoming lectures in the fall 2017 series include:

  • Wednesday, Oct. 4, “Solving Problems of the Foot and Ankle,” L. Daniel Latt, MD, PhD, associate professor, orthopaedic surgery, UA College of Medicine – Tucson
  • Wednesday, Nov. 1, “Imagine a Future Free of the Pain of Arthritis ... Meet the UA Arthritis Center Researchers,” an inside look at the cutting-edge research being performed at the UA Arthritis Center, led by Director C. Kent Kwoh, MD

About the University of Arizona Arthritis Center

The University of Arizona Arthritis Center, a Center of Excellence at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, is a research leader with a focus on identifying the causes of arthritis and developing improved diagnosis, measurement and treatment of the disease. For more information, please visit www.arthritis.arizona.edu

About the University of Arizona Health Sciences

The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. The UA Health Sciences includes the UA Colleges of Medicine (Phoenix and Tucson), Nursing, Pharmacy and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, the UA Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest to provide cutting-edge health education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic engine, the UA Health Sciences employs almost 5,000 people, has nearly 1,000 faculty members and garners more than $126 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn)

Release Date: 
08/25/2017 - 6:45am
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