Josefin Jakobik and Sanna Hansson.
Two of the faces behind the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute’s (CHIRI) latest research study, Sanna Hansson and Josefin Jakobik, recently joined us from Sweden and are all smiles at the opportunities their four-month placement is already presenting to them.
Both medical students at Linköping University, the duo decided to take their current semester’s work, focused on learning about things like research, laboratory work and writing articles and scientific reports, overseas.
The best part is that CHIRI had the perfect project waiting for them in Western Australia – a hands-on research study that combines both medical and research elements and for which CHIRI is currently recruiting participants.
CHIRI’s researchers have previously discovered that microscopic blood vessels in the brain called capillaries, which are critical to brain function and mental health and keep the brain isolated and protected from infectious diseases, become increasingly leaky with age. They also found that poor dietary behaviour accelerates this process.
With persistent leakage being a cause of silent inflammation that can increase the risk of some degenerative brain diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, CHIRI is now investigating how dietary behaviour can also strengthen brain capillaries and reduce disease risk.
Josefin and Sanna are part of a team led by CHIRI Director Professor John Mamo and Associate Professor Ryu Takechi that is studying how people respond to meals containing commonly consumed dietary oils and how effective these oils are in influencing blood metabolites that positively regulate capillary vessel function.
CHIRI began recruiting participants for the study earlier this month, and Sanna and Josefin have been heavily involved in both their recruitment and testing.
If you would like to volunteer for the study, it’s not too late. You can find out more at https://buff.ly/2xN4elE and register your interest through Eventbrite at https://buff.ly/2QTnpml.
