Christine Thomson | |
|---|---|
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| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Otago |
| Thesis |
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| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Otago |
| Doctoral students | Sheila Skeaff |
Christine Dumont Thomson is a New Zealand nutritionist and academic,and is professor emerita at the University of Otago. Before her retirement in 2010 she researched iodine and selenium dietary deficiencies.
Thomson completed a Bachelor and Master of Health Science and a PhD at the University of Otago. [1] Her doctoral dissertation was on the importance of selenium in the diet. [2] Thomson joined the faculty of the university in 1976,rising to full professor in 2006. [1] [3]
Thomson's research focused on iodine and selenium in the diet,but she also had an interest in sports nutrition. [4] [5] [1] Her interest in iodine continued a tradition of research into nutritional deficiencies at Otago,started by Charles Hercus,Noel Benson,Charles L. Carter and Muriel Bell,who showed in the 1920s that iodine deficiency in New Zealand soils was causing goitre. [1] [6] Iodised salt became available in New Zealand in 1939,but Thomson's research in the 1990s showed that iodine deficiency was once again a problem in New Zealand. [6] A 2002 survey of schoolchildren by colleague Sheila Skeaff showed mild iodine deficiency,and the 2008–2009 National Nutrition Survey found similar in adults. [6] The food standards were then altered so that it became mandatory to use iodised salt in bread,and subsequent surveys have shown a decline in iodine deficiency. [6] Thomson also researched selenium deficiency,showing that eating one brazil nut per day was sufficient to raise most New Zealander's selenium to recommended levels. [5] [4]
Thomson was on the editorial advisory board for the New Zealand healthy food guide. [7]
Thomson is retired from teaching and research,and was appointed professor emerita at Otago in 2010. [1] [3]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants are frequently added to industrial products, such as polymers, fuels, and lubricants, to extend their usable lifetimes. Foods are also treated with antioxidants to forestall spoilage, in particular the rancidification of oils and fats. In cells, antioxidants such as glutathione, mycothiol, or bacillithiol, and enzyme systems like superoxide dismutase, can prevent damage from oxidative stress.
Selenium is a chemical element; it has the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elemental state or as pure ore compounds in Earth's crust. Selenium was discovered in 1817 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, who noted the similarity of the new element to the previously discovered tellurium.
Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is the general name of an enzyme family with peroxidase activity whose main biological role is to protect the organism from oxidative damage. The biochemical function of glutathione peroxidase is to reduce lipid hydroperoxides to their corresponding alcohols and to reduce free hydrogen peroxide to water.
Iodised salt is table salt mixed with a minute amount of various salts of the element iodine. The ingestion of iodine prevents iodine deficiency. Worldwide, iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Deficiency also causes thyroid gland problems, including endemic goitre. In many countries, iodine deficiency is a major public health problem that can be cheaply addressed by purposely adding small amounts of iodine to the sodium chloride salt.
Glutathione peroxidase 1, also known as GPx1, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the GPX1 gene on chromosome 3. This gene encodes a member of the glutathione peroxidase family. Glutathione peroxidase functions in the detoxification of hydrogen peroxide, and is one of the most important antioxidant enzymes in humans.
Selenium deficiency occurs when an organism lacks the required levels of selenium, a critical nutrient in many species. Deficiency, although relatively rare in healthy well-nourished individuals, can have significant negative results, affecting the health of the heart and the nervous system; contributing to depression, anxiety, and dementia; and interfering with reproduction and gestation.
Iodine is an essential trace element in biological systems. It has the distinction of being the heaviest element commonly needed by living organisms as well as the second-heaviest known to be used by any form of life. It is a component of biochemical pathways in organisms from all biological kingdoms, suggesting its fundamental significance throughout the evolutionary history of life.
Selenium is an essential micronutrient for animals, though it is toxic in large doses. In plants, it sometimes occurs in toxic amounts as forage, e.g. locoweed. Selenium is a component of the amino acids selenocysteine and selenomethionine. In humans, selenium is a trace element nutrient that functions as cofactor for glutathione peroxidases and certain forms of thioredoxin reductase. Selenium-containing proteins are produced from inorganic selenium via the intermediacy of selenophosphate (PSeO33−).
Virginia Minnich (1910–1996) was an American molecular biologist and hematology researcher known for discovering hemoglobin E, an abnormal form of hemoglobin that can cause blood disorders, and for working out the glutathione synthesis pathway. She was a noted blood morphologist and teacher and helped set up hematology laboratories around the world. She was the first person without a PhD or MD to be appointed a Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine.
Sheila A. Skeaff is a Canadian-born New Zealand nutritionist and full professor at the University of Otago. Her research focusses on food literacy, sustainable diets and iodine deficiency.
Marion Frances Robinson was a New Zealand nutritionist and physiologist. She was professor of nutrition at the University of Otago, and is particularly noted for her investigation of the importance of selenium in the human diet.
Rachel C. Brown is a New Zealand scientist, professor and deputy head of the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Otago.
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Barbara Jean Francis Apgar is an American biochemist. She worked on important research on ribonucleic acids (RNA), and on zinc deficiency as a risk factor in reproduction. She won the Federal Woman's Award in 1970, and the Arthur S. Flemming Award in 1973.
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Peter Elwood is professor of epidemiology who for more than two decades led the Medical Research Council's Epidemiological Unit in South Wales. In 1979 he initiated the Caerphilly Heart Disease Study.
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Cathryn Anne Conlon is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at Massey University, specialising in maternal and early-life nutrition.
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