Facilities in the Department of Nutritional Sciences

Laboratories

Our laboratory facilities are situated within the Department of Nutritional Sciences on the 4th floor of the Franklin Wilkins Building. We have fully equipped laboratories with workstations, equipment, and facilities required to undertake cutting-edge research for in vitro and human nutrition studies, in which we collect samples such as blood, urine, stool and tissue biopsies.

We possess a range of different highly specialised facilities, including cell culture laboratories, gas-liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography. Our laboratories are used by our world-leading scientists, as well as a range of research staff and graduate students who undertake practical sessions and research projects.

As well as general laboratories, we also run dedicated specimen-specific laboratories, for example laboratories for blood or stool sample handling in Class II cabinets for safe and sterile sample processing. These laboratories are placed within our Metabolic Research Unit, which guarantees efficient and timely processing of samples from our study participants, ensuring the integrity of the samples and accuracy of analyses.

Dietetic kitchen and feeding facilities

Discover the cutting-edge kitchen and feeding facilities strategically nested within the Department of Nutritional Sciences. Our facilities are a central part of our commitment to high quality research and education that starts with understanding food, its composition and how to change diet in large numbers of people in a carefully controlled setting.

Our kitchen and feeding facilities include a collection of state-of-the-art standard and specialist equipment designed to cater to the diverse needs of our activities. From 12 kitchen workstations to specialised equipment for tightly controlled feeding clinical trials and specially designed feeding rooms, the facilities allow our researchers to undertake nutrition education and research to the highest standard.

At the core of our specialist facility, there is a team of highly trained technical staff who provide expertise and support to students and researchers on food preparation and storage.

The Metabolic Research Unit

The Metabolic Research Unit (MRU) is a facility where members of the public and patients can visit to take part in nutrition research studies. It is equipped with a comprehensive range of facilities and equipment to support research in the field of nutrition.

What facilities we have:

We have a fully equipped metabolic kitchen that allows us to prepare and standardize meals and study foods for research participants, as well as a suite of consultation rooms where researchers can meet participants for accurate and reliable dietary data collection. The MRU is fully-equipped with 4 clinical rooms designed for phlebotomy (taking blood) and a range of facilities for conducting physiological, body composition and behavioural measurements. This includes measuring blood pressure, arterial stiffness, endothelial function, heart rate variability, breath hydrogen testing, indirect calorimetry, body composition (bioelectrical impedance analysis, BODPOD whole-body densitometry), appetite, cognitive function and more.

What we can do:

Our MRU has the capacity to conduct a wide range of nutrition research studies, including acute postprandial metabolic studies, chronic dietary interventions, and observational studies. MRU laboratory space is available for processing and storage of blood, saliva, urine and stool samples. Adjoining laboratories have the facilities to analyse biomarkers and nutrient metabolism by a variety of methods including HPLC, GC, LC-MS and GC-MS. The MRU is managed by a paramedic and serves PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and academic staff in running nutrition studies, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate taught students undertaking practical work and student projects.