Unit for Nutrition Research (UNR)

Unit for Nutrition Research (UNR) - Iceland (www.rin.hi.is) was founded in 1997 and formally established as a research institute through a contract between the University of Iceland (UoI see below) Landspitali-University Hospital (LUH, see below). UNR has 16 employees,

Prof. Inga Thorsdottir, the Assoc. Prof. Ingibjorg Gunnarsdottir PhD and Alfons Ramel PhD who are both very promising young academics, and project staff and students, of which 3 PhD students will participate in the Nutrition and Innovation cluster. University of Iceland (UoI), founded 1911, has an action plan with the goal to be ranked among the 100 best universities of the world and to employ internationally recognized quality standards in all aspects of its work. The UoI collaborates with hundreds of foreign universities and research institutes, and over the past few years the UoI has signed agreements with numerous universities in Europe, North America, Australia and Southeast Asia.

Incentive and contribution to the cluster: UNR participates in the cluster to receive and give expertise for the work from nutrition research to innovation and better food and dietary habits. This will support the goals of the UNR. UNR runs successful dietary interventions such as a study including fish and fish-products (YOUNG) coordinated by Thorsdottir as a part of a large EU-project (SEAFOODplus) within EU’s 6th FP. UNR has also participated in other EU and Nordic R&D projects and networks for training and research and expert groups. UNR’s national cross-sectional and cohort studies in various populations have supported and lead to a new nutrition assessment tool and to the development of nutrition recommendations and public health advice.

UNR has analyzed food constituents, and their association with health variables, and participated in the development of a liquid infant formula (6 mo – 2 yrs) improving iron status of Icelandic infants. UNR collaborates with a number of Icelandic and international institutes, firms and universities. UNR contributes with facilities and manpower for conducting epidemiological, clinical, and technological studies. UNR has data from investigating the role of nutrition throughout the life span, including research in e.g. infants and children, pregnant women, young adults and the elderly.