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 the Massey University. [2]

Contents

Academic career

After a 1986 PhD titled 'The effect of unsaturated fatty acids and related compounds on calcium transport in sarcoplasmic reticulum' at the Medical University of Southern Africa, Kruger worked at the University of Texas at Austin and University of Pretoria before she moved to the Massey University in 2000, rising to full professor. [2] [3]

Kruger is active in Zontia [3] and was a finalist in the 2017 Westpac Women of Influence Awards. [4] In 2021 she received Massey University's Supervisor Research Medal. [5] The Research Medals are Massey's highest honor. [6]

Notable doctoral students 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)—essential for metabolizing fatty acid—and to synthesize and metabolize 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 to 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 humans and other animals must ingest because the body requires them for good health, but cannot synthesize them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calcium metabolism</span> Movement and regulation of calcium ions in and out of the body

Calcium metabolism is the movement and regulation of calcium ions (Ca2+) in (via the gut) and out (via the gut and kidneys) of the body, and between body compartments: the blood plasma, the extracellular and intracellular fluids, and bone. Bone acts as a calcium storage center for deposits and withdrawals as needed by the blood via continual bone remodeling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat food</span> Food for consumption by cats

Cat food is food specifically designed for consumption by cats. As obligate carnivores, cats have specific requirements for their dietary nutrients, namely nutrients found only in meat, such as taurine, arginine, and Vitamin B6. Certain nutrients, including many vitamins and amino acids, are degraded by the temperatures, pressures and chemical treatments used during manufacture, and hence must be added after manufacture to avoid nutritional deficiency.

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.

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

Calcitroic acid (1α-hydroxy-23-carboxy-24,25,26,27-tetranorvitamin D3) is a major metabolite of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol). Around 1980, scientists first reported the isolation of calcitroic acid from the aqueous extract of radioactively treated animals' livers and intestines. Subsequent researches confirmed calcitroic acid to be a part of enterohepatic circulation. Often synthesized in the liver and kidneys, calcitroic acid is generated in the body after vitamin D is first converted into calcitriol, an intermediate in the fortification of bone through the formation and regulation of calcium in the body. These pathways managed by calcitriol are thought to be inactivated through its hydroxylation by the enzyme CYP24A1, also called calcitriol 24-hydroxylase. Specifically, It is thought to be the major route to inactivate vitamin D metabolites. The hydroxylation and oxidation reactions will yield either calcitroic acid via the C24 oxidation pathway or 1,25(OH2)D3-26,23-lactone via the C23 lactone pathway.

William E.M. Lands is an American nutritional biochemist who is among the world's foremost authorities on essential fatty acids.

<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>

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. Part of nutritional immunology involves studying the possible effects of diet on the prevention and management on developing autoimmune diseases, chronic diseases, allergy, cancer and infectious diseases. Other related topics of nutritional immunology are: malnutrition, malabsorption and nutritional metabolic disorders including the determination of their immune products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constance Kies</span> American dietitian and nutrition scientist (1934–1993)

Constance Virginia Kies was an American nutrition scientist and dietitian. Kies worked as a public school teacher for three years before going against the traditional gender norms of her time and completing an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Over the duration of her 30-year career at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Kies researched nutritional biochemistry. She demonstrated relationships between minerals, proteins, and dietary fiber through pioneering human subject research. Her findings led to advancements in human knowledge of copper and protein metabolism. She was honored with the Borden Award and was a fellow of the American College of Nutrition. Kies was a feminist and a member of the National Organization for Women and the Women's Equity Action League. She died of uterine cancer three months after her diagnosis.

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.

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.