Overview
Resilience, which can be defined as the ability to resist, adapt to, recover, or grow from a challenge or stressor, is an area of scientific research that spans multiple biological, environmental, social, and behavioral domains. Resilience research within the context of the biomedical sciences might provide insight towards the improvement of health and health maintenance that differ from, but complement, disease-based frameworks.
The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) Resilience and Health Studies Program focuses on discovering mediators of resilience, or protective factors, to help gain a better understanding of how responses to biological, environmental, and psychosocial stressors might impact the nutrient status and overall health of individuals. The program addresses key questions that are relevant to the mission of ODS such as:
- When does a change in nutrient status or biochemical markers represent a beneficial adaptation to a stressor versus a detrimental imbalance to the system (or a combination of both)?
- Can dietary supplements provide additional nutrients to protect or enhance the body’s response to a stressor?
The program encourages researchers to identify opportunities to study “resilient” special populations (active-duty military, centenarians, survivors/thrivers within high-risk populations) that are typically under-represented in scientific investigations. The program also promotes a better understanding of the impact that protective factors have on disease risk factors.
Program Activities
Trans-NIH Resilience Working Group
The
Trans-NIH Resilience Working Group was established to facilitate the coordination and harmonization of a resilience research agenda across NIH. The group is chaired by LaVerne L. Brown, Ph.D., at ODS. Core members include representatives from NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) with strategic priorities and/or funds dedicated for programs related to resilience. ICO representation at the inaugural working group meeting included the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and ODS. The working group has since expanded to include representation from the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, and Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. The group, through collaborations with multiple NIH ICOs, has established an operational definition and
conceptual model of resilience. These and other resources are available on the
Trans-NIH Resilience Working Group webpage.
Resilience Research Scientific Interest Group (SIG)
The Resilience Research SIG, co-chaired by Dr. Brown (ODS) and Ann Berger, M.D. (NIH Clinical Center), was established as an extension of the Trans-NIH Resilience Working Group to advance resilience research across NIH and partnering agencies. The Resilience Research SIG meets monthly to foster communication, collaboration, and the sharing of resources. The outcomes from monthly meetings, including shared resources and data, will be collected by the ODS Resilience & Health Studies Program. To join the mailing list, please visit the Resilience Research SIG Listserv, then click the “Subscribe or Unsubscribe” link in the right sidebar.
ODS-Resilience Portfolio Analysis
ODS, in collaboration with partnering agencies or other NIH ICOs, supports resilience research by funding interagency agreements and co-funding training grants, administrative supplements, and other opportunities. A snapshot of ODS co-funded resilience research from 2022 (below) provides examples of the range of resilience research interests.
Resilience Research Design Tool
The Resilience Research Design Tool uses key resilience research terms and a decision tree to identify experimental designs in funded or proposed studies that best advance the science of resilience. The tool provides guidance on best practices for designing studies that are intended to target resilience outcomes. Investigators can download and use the key research terms and decision tool when planning resilience research designs.
Interagency Collaborations
Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience Interagency Working Group
The Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience Interagency Working Group
includes representatives from across the federal government who seek to define and measure resilience outcomes and strengthen community resilience and health.
Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP)
CHAMP carries out and translates research to improve service member performance in the field and when returning to duty. Examples of ODS supported resilience research with CHAMP include:
Research Study: Dietary ingredients to minimize environmental heat injury
Objective: To determine in vivo the efficacy of curcumin, astaxanthin, and glutamine in preserving energy production and preventing heat-induced skeletal muscle injury.
- Astaxanthin Protects Against Heat-induced Mitochondrial Alterations in Mouse Hypothalamus Chen Y, Yu T, Deuster P. Neuroscience. 2021 Nov 10;476:12-20. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.09.010.
- Curcumin Ameliorates Heat-Induced Injury through NADPH Oxidase-Dependent Redox Signaling and Mitochondrial Preservation in C2C12 Myoblasts and Mouse Skeletal Muscle. Yu T, Dohl J, Wang L, Chen Y, Gasier HG, Deuster P.J Nutr. 2020 Sep 1;150(9):2257-2267. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxaa201.
- Curcumin Induces Concentration-dependent Alterations in Mitochondrial Function through ROS in C2C12 Mouse Myoblasts Yu T, Dohl J, Elenberg F, Chen Y, Deuster P. J Cell Physiol. 2019 May;234(5):6371-6381. doi: 10.1002/jcp.27370.
- Astaxanthin but not Quercetin Preserves Mitochondrial Integrity and Function, Ameliorates Oxidative Stress, and Reduces Heat-induced Skeletal Muscle Injury Yu T, Dohl J, Chen Y, Gasier HG, Deuster PA. J Cell Physiol. 2019 Aug;234(8):13292-13302. doi: 10.1002/jcp.28006.
Research Study: Dietary supplement ingredients for optimizing cognitive performance among healthy adults
Objective: To explore the evidence on the efficacy and safety of single dietary supplement ingredients frequently marketed with claims of enhanced cognitive performance among healthy adults.
Research Study: Dietary supplement ingredients for preserving and protecting the immune system
Objectives: To strengthen the knowledge and understanding of dietary supplement ingredients with claims for immune health, and to make evidence-based strategic decisions regarding future research initiatives.
Podcasts
Veterans Affairs (VA)
Research Study: Examination of electronic health records to identify possible association between the incidence of heart failure and magnesium supplementation/status among veteran populations
Objective: Pilot study to advance machine/deep learning techniques towards a better understanding of whether magnesium supplements may lower the risk of heart failure (HF) in patient with diabetes mellitus (DM) and enhance resilience outcomes. (1R01HL156518-01A1)
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Research Study: Vitamin D requirements for Bone Health in Zebrafish
Objective: pilot study to determine the vitamin D requirements for bone health and survival in adult zebrafish
Publications
Curcumin Induces Concentration-dependent Alterations in Mitochondrial Function through ROS in C2C12 Mouse Myoblasts. Yu T, Dohl J, Elenberg F, Chen Y, Deuster P. J Cell Physiol. 2019 May;234(5):6371-6381. doi: 10.1002/jcp.27370.
The Vitamin D Paradox in Black Americans: A Systems-based Approach to Investigating Clinical Practice, Research, and Public Health - Expert Panel Meeting Report. Brown LL, Cohen B, Tabor D, Zappalà G, Maruvada P, Coates PM. BMC Proc. 2018 May 9;12(Suppl 6):6. doi: 10.1186/s12919-018-0102-4.