Marlena Kruger

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Marlena Cathorina Kruger
Marlena Kruger * Jane Ussher * Rangahau 2016 (cropped).tif
Alma mater Medical University of Southern Africa
Scientific career
Fields Human physiology
Institutions University of Texas at Austin, University of Pretoria and Massey University
Thesis
Doctoral students Pamela von Hurst [1]

Marlena Cathorina Kruger is a South African-New Zealand medical researcher and academic. She is currently a full professor of nutritional physiology at Massey University. [2]

Contents

Academic career

After completing her PhD in 1986, titled 'The effect of unsaturated fatty acids and related compounds on calcium transport in sarcoplasmic reticulum' at the Medical University of Southern Africa, Kruger held positions at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Pretoria before joining Massey University in 2000, where she rose to full professor. [2] [3]

Kruger is an active member of Zonta International [3] and was a finalist in the 2017 Westpac Women of Influence Awards. [4] In 2021, she received Massey University's prestigious Supervisor Research Medal, [5] the university's highest honor. [6]

Notable doctoral students under her supervision include Pamela von Hurst. [7]

Selected works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lipid</span> Substance of biological origin that is soluble in nonpolar solvents

Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins, monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing energy, signaling, and acting as structural components of cell membranes. Lipids have applications in the cosmetic and food industries, and in nanotechnology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pantothenic acid</span> Chemical compound

Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is a B vitamin and an essential nutrient. All animals need pantothenic acid in order to synthesize coenzyme A (CoA), which is essential for cellular energy production and for the synthesis and degradation of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures such as hair, scales, feathers, or exoskeletons. Some nutrients can be metabolically converted into smaller molecules in the process of releasing energy such as for carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and fermentation products leading to end-products of water and carbon dioxide. All organisms require water. Essential nutrients for animals are the energy sources, some of the amino acids that are combined to create proteins, a subset of fatty acids, vitamins and certain minerals. Plants require more diverse minerals absorbed through roots, plus carbon dioxide and oxygen absorbed through leaves. Fungi live on dead or living organic matter and meet nutrient needs from their host.

Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are fatty acids that are required by humans and other animals for normal physiological function that cannot be synthesized in the body.⁠ As they are not synthesized in the body, the essential fatty acids – alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid – must be obtained from food or from a dietary supplement. Essential fatty acids are needed for various cellular metabolic processes and for the maintenance and function of tissues and organs. These fatty acids also are precursors to vitamins, cofactors, and derivatives, including prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes, lipoxins, and others.

Raw feeding is the practice of feeding domestic dogs, cats, and other animals a diet consisting primarily of uncooked meat, edible bones, and organs. The ingredients used to formulate raw diets vary. Some pet owners choose to make home-made raw diets to feed their animals but commercial raw diets are also available.

Vaccenic acid is a naturally occurring trans fatty acid and an omega-7 fatty acid. It is the predominant kind of trans-fatty acid found in human milk, in the fat of ruminants, and in dairy products such as milk, butter, and yogurt. Trans fat in human milk may depend on trans fat content in food. Vaccenic acid was discovered in 1928 in animal fats and butter. Mammals convert it into rumenic acid, a conjugated linoleic acid, where it shows anticarcinogenic properties. Cows milk had highest trans-vaccenic acid content in the first few days of the cows being milked, indicating that it is stockpiled similarly to omega-3 fatty acids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masayoshi Yamaguchi</span> Japanese scientist

Masayoshi Yamaguchi is a biomedical scientist and researcher, most known for his contributions to biomedical fields including biochemistry, endocrinology, metabolism, nutrition, pharmacology, and toxicology. He is a full professor in the Cancer Biology Program at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH), focusing on research in bone and calcium endocrinology, metabolism, cell calcium signaling, gene regulation, dietary prevention of osteoporosis, carcinogenesis, and cancer therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagannath Ganguly</span>

Jagannath Ganguly (1921–2007) was an Indian biochemist known for his researches on Vitamin A and fatty acids, which assisted in the better understanding of their metabolism in humans. Born on the 1 April 1921, he authored a book, Biochemistry of Vitamin A, which details the physiological, biochemical and nutritional characteristics of the organic compound. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1963, for his contributions to biological sciences. He died on 12 December 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puppy nutrition</span>

The developmental life stage of dogs requires a specific intake of nutrients to ensure proper growth and development and to meet energy requirements. Despite the fact that puppies have different nutritional requirements compared to their adult counterparts, of the 652 breeders surveyed in the United States and Canada in 2012, 8.7% report feeding puppies commercial diets not intended for the developmental life stage of canines. Large and small dog breeds have even more specific nutrient requirements during growth, such as adjusted calcium to phosphorus ratio, and as such should receive a breed specific growth formula. Feeding diets formulated by a nutritionist for specific breeds and life stage differences in nutrient requirements ensures a growing puppy will receive the proper nutrition associated with appropriate skeletal, neurological and immune development. This includes nutrients such as protein, fibre, essential fatty acids, calcium and vitamin E. It is therefore important to feed puppies a diet that meets the minimum and/or maximum requirements established by the National Research Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senior dog diet</span> Pet foods catered toward senior pets

Senior dog food diets are pet foods that are catered toward the senior or mature pet population. The senior dog population consists of dogs that are over the age of seven for most dog breeds, though in general large and giant breed dogs tend to reach this life stage earlier when compared to smaller breed dogs. Senior dog foods contain nutrients and characteristics that are used to improve the health of the aging dog. Aging in dogs causes many changes to occur physiologically that will require a change in nutrient composition of their diet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vegetarian and vegan dog diet</span> Adequate meat-free or animal-free nutrition

As in the human practice of veganism, vegan dog foods are those formulated with the exclusion of ingredients that contain or were processed with any part of an animal, or any animal byproduct. Vegan dog food may incorporate the use of fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes including soya, nuts, vegetable oils, as well as any other non-animal based foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahram H. Arjmandi</span> American nutritionist

Bahram H. Arjmandi is an American nutritionist. He is the Margaret A. Sitton Professor at Florida State University (FSU) and is the founder and Director of the Center for Advancing Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging (CAENRA). He is a researcher in the fields of functional foods and human health. He was among the first to detect the presence of estrogen receptors in the gut linking the importance of estrogen and estrogen receptors in calcium regulation independent of vitamin D.

Nutritional immunology is a field of immunology that focuses on studying the influence of nutrition on the immune system and its protective functions. Indeed, every organism will under nutrient-poor conditions "fight" for the precious micronutrients and conceal them from invading pathogens. As such, bacteria, fungi, plants secrete for example iron chelators (siderophores) to acquire iron from their surrounding

Jane Coad is a New Zealand public health nutrition researcher and professor in nutrition at Massey University. She is co-director of Massey's Vitamin D Research Centre which she and Pam von Hurst founded in 2010.

William S. Harris, PhD FAHA FASN is an American professor and researcher focusing on human nutrition. His work has focused on the role of Omega-3 fatty acids as they relate to cardiovascular disease and neuropsychiatric disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodolfo Brenner</span> Argentine biochemist

Rodolfo Roberto Brenner was an Argentine emeritus professor of chemistry. He was the founder and director of the Institute of Biochemical Research of La Plata and the co-founder of the Argentine Society for Biochemical Research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela von Hurst</span> New Zealand nutritionist

Pamela Ruth von Hurst is a New Zealand academic and is a full professor at Massey University, specialising in human nutrition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Beck (dietitian)</span> New Zealand dietitian

Kathryn Louise Beck is a New Zealand academic, a registered dietitian, and is a full professor at Massey University, specialising in dietary assessment, sustainable nutrition, and iron deficiency in young women and sportspeople.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cath Conlon</span> New Zealand nutritionist

Cathryn Anne Conlon is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at Massey University, specialising in maternal and early-life nutrition.

Rozanne Kruger is a South African academic and registered dietitian, and is a full professor at Griffith University, specialising in developing new dietary assessment strategies, to examine patterns of dietary intake and behaviour, and training dietitians.

References

  1. von Hurst, Pamela (2009). The role of vitamin D in metabolism and bone health (PhD thesis). Massey Research Online, Massey University. hdl:10179/1148.
  2. 1 2 Zealand, Massey University, New. "Prof Marlena Kruger - Professor in Nutritional Physiology". www.massey.ac.nz.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 "Prominent Member History: Marlena Kruger - Zonta International District 16".
  4. "Women of Influence 2017: Finalists announced". Stuff. 12 July 2017.
  5. "Massey awards five University Research Medals for 2021". www.massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  6. ksch009 (12 December 2021). "Professor Marlena Kruger awarded Massey's Supervisor Research Medal". High-Value Nutrition. Retrieved 16 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. von Hurst, Pamela (2009). The role of vitamin D in metabolism and bone health (PhD thesis). Massey Research Online, Massey University. hdl:10179/1148.