معرفی
Matthew G. Pontifex is a Lecturer in Health Sciences (Dietetics) at the University of East Anglia's School of Health Sciences. He is affiliated with Metabolic Health and Nutrition and Preventive Medicine research groups. His research focuses on diet's impact on cognitive and physical health across lifespans, particularly sex differences in brain health, menopause-related cognitive decline, and microbiota-gut-brain interactions. He has received awards including the 2024 RANK New Lecturer Prize and the 2021 Quality Juice Award. He teaches on the Applied Physiology, Biochemistry, and Nutrition module for the MSc Dietetics program.
Research Interests:
- Optimizing dietary patterns to improve health outcomes
- Sex differences in neurodegenerative disease vulnerability
- Menopause and Alzheimer’s disease prevention
- Microbiota modulation via pre/probiotics
Recent Research Trends: His articles emphasize polyphenol effects on neuroprotection, microbiota-derived metabolites’ role in neurovascular health, and Mediterranean diet-inspired interventions for cognitive deficits. Collaborations with groups like Alzheimer's Research UK highlight translational focus.
Awards:
- RANK new lecturer prize (2024)
- Nutrition society paper of the month (2024)
- Quality Juice Award - Best young researcher (2021)
Grants & Projects: Current projects include £1.5M Alzheimer’s Research UK funding exploring menopausal transition and APOE4-mediated Alzheimer’s risk, and a BBSRC grant studying microalgae-based ingredients on mood/cognition. He leads a team investigating transgenic plant-derived omega-3s for menopause-related brain dysregulation.
Labs & Teams: Collaborates closely with Prof. David Vauzour’s group on neuro-nutrition studies, leveraging advanced metabolomics and preclinical models.
