UMass Medical School in Worcester received a $1.7 million grant to develop a nutrition-based treatment for Crohn’s disease, focusing on the increasing prevalence of the illness in Puerto Rico, according to an announcement from UMass on Tuesday.
The grant was awarded by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, a global philanthropy dedicated to healthcare research, which has offices in New York and South Dakota.
Assistant Professor Ana Maldonado-Contreras , who works in microbiology and physiological systems, will use the award to create a therapeutic diet tailored toward the food availability and preferences on the island, per the announcement.
The UMass project will work in partnership with El Centro para Enfermedades Inflamatorias del Intestino (the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease) at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan to create and test the nutrition program, dubbed Dieta Anti-Inflamatoria or DAIN.
The project will be three years, with testing beginning in the summer of 2022.
Crohn’s disease has increased in Puerto Rico by five-fold in less than a decade, said Dr. Maldonado-Contreras in a statement.
A form of inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s can be treated, but has no cure.
