Science Spotlight with Dr. Tonya Orchard
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recognizes March as National Nutrition Month, a time to focus on the importance of making informed food choices to promote health and wellness. How does your research program support our understanding the role of diet and nutrition in preventing chronic disease?
My research focus is on reducing chronic inflammation with diet. My lab combines clinical interventions, epidemiological analyses, and translational animal models to examine the role of dietary patterns and dietary components on outcomes of interest. We apply our work to multiple inflammatory conditions including cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI), neuropsychological outcomes, fatigue, obesity and musculoskeletal conditions. Currently, we have two randomized controlled trials underway in which we are testing the efficacy of a dietary intervention based on a MIND diet pattern to mitigate inflammation and CRCI in women undergoing systemic treatments for various types of breast cancer.
What innovative methodology are you using in your research?
In our current studies, we are collecting all data remotely and delivering the nutrition interventions in a telehealth-style format. This allows cancer survivors across the United States to participate. To facilitate these remotely-delivered studies, we have worked with collaborators to develop an optimized method to measure fatty acid biomarkers in dried blood spots and objectively measure cognitive function with a battery of tests that can be administered in a virtual session.
What excites you most about this research?
One of the most exciting parts of my research is gaining a better understanding of how diet can influence aspects of health so critical to quality of life, such as cognitive function. It is especially rewarding to see benefits in individuals who are going through an extremely stressful period, such as those newly diagnosed with cancer.
Who are your primary collaborators?
I have had so many wonderful collaborators over the last decade! Some of the most influential have been:
- Dr. Maryam Lustberg, a long-time collaborator and medical oncologist formerly at Ohio State and now the Chief of the Yale Breast Cancer Center
- Dr. Martha Belury, one of my first mentors in lipid metabolism and now the Chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology at OSU
- Dr. Rachel Cole, an expert in gas chromatography and Research Scientist in the Belury lab
- Drs. Irene Hatsu and Rachel Kopec, colleagues in Human Nutrition with expertise in mental health outcomes and lipidomics, respectively
- Drs. Bridget Oppong and Nicole Williams, medical oncologists at OSU
- Dr. Darrin Aase, a neuropsychologist formerly at OSU, now at the VA, who assisted us with development of our cognitive battery
- Dr. Stephanie Gorka, a functional imaging expert at OSU
- Drs. Rebecca Andridge and Patrick Schnell, biostatisticians who were crucial to our success
And many others!
We also celebrate registered dietitians this month. What advice do you have for aspiring dietitians who are interested in nutrition research and its applications in healthcare?
It’s never too late to start! My journey into nutrition research began after 18 years of employment in healthcare facilities. This provided a valuable perspective that was unique to my work. If you are curious about how nutrition can influence the problems that you see in your patients on a daily basis, research may be of interest to you.