This course examines the science at the intersection of nutraceuticals, genomics, and personalized nutrition. Students explore how bioactive dietary compounds and nutraceuticals interact with the human genome, influence gene expression, and produce varied outcomes among individuals due to genetic variation and microbiome composition. Equal attention is given to nutraceutical science (categories, bioavailability, molecular mechanisms), nutrigenomics (how bioactive compounds alter gene expression through epigenetic and transcription-factor pathways), nutrigenetics (how SNPs shape individual responses), and the microbiome-nutraceutical interface. The course concludes with precision nutrition clinical integration, synthesizing genomic, microbiomic, and metabolomic data into individualized supplement and functional food protocols. Throughout the course, students distinguish between food-form bioactive delivery (nutraceuticals and functional foods) and isolated or concentrated supplement forms, evaluating how source, matrix, and formulation interact with genomic and microbiome factors to determine individualized outcomes. Students develop and apply federal research literacy (ODS, NCCIH, NIH Reporter) as they evaluate the rapidly evolving evidence base in nutrigenomics and personalized nutrition.
Analyze the biochemical mechanisms of nutraceuticals and dietary bioactive compounds, including their molecular targets, signaling pathways, and bioavailability determinants.
Evaluate the nutrigenomic and epigenetic mechanisms, DNA methylation, histone modification, and miRNA regulation, through which dietary bioactive compounds modulate gene expression.
Critique the clinical validity and utility of nutrigenetics testing, including direct-to-consumer platforms, and construct individualized, evidence-graded supplement and functional-food protocols informed by clinically relevant SNPs, biomarker confirmation, and defensible scope-of-practice boundaries.
Design precision nutraceutical protocols that account for inter-individual microbiome variability, including polyphenol biotransformation differences, equol production capacity, and short-chain fatty acid production from prebiotic substrates in order to synthesize microbiome data with genomic and clinical evidence to justify personalized supplement recommendations.
Synthesize a comprehensive precision nutrition framework integrating genomic, microbiomic, metabolomic, and clinical-phenotype data into an individualized, professionally defensible practice recommendation.
Formulate a research question at the intersection of nutrigenomics, nutraceutical science, and precision nutrition, identifying a meaningful gap in the current evidence base and articulating a PICO or SPIDER framework that justifies the scholarly significance of the proposed inquiry for integrative supplement science practice.
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Required Textbooks:
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Candidates must possess a baccalaureate degree or higher from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the US Department of Education. Candidates must submit official transcripts directly from the issuing institution along with one professional letter of recommendation. All applicants must be recommended for admission by the ACHS Admissions Committee.
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