Release issued 15th June 2009

Brescia University College student Jaimie Hemsworth's work in developing and testing supplemented probiotic yogurt for HIV clients has earned her the Morgan Medal for research from the Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research.

Hemsworth, Master's student in Foods and Nutrition at Brescia, received the award at the national conference of the Dietitians of Canada/Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research (CFDR) in Prince Edward Island on June 4.

The Morgan awards acknowledge dietetic students and interns for their passion and commitment to dietetic research. Hemsworth has worked on a research team to develop and test a micronutrient supplemented probiotic yogurt for use in HIV clients. Clinical studies of HIV clients in London, Ont. and Mwanza, Tanzania, were conducted.

This research has led to a deeper understanding of the role of micronutrients and probiotics in strengthening the immune system and overall quality of life in people living with HIV.
Hemsworth is proud of her achievement and of the work of the research team.

"We should have three publications of the work we did. I hope that leads to other work for other Brescia students and that it answers important questions about people living with HIV," she says.

Alicia Garcia, chair of the division of Food and Nutritional Sciences, describes Hemsworth as an excellent student with great initiative and determination.

"Jaimie is very passionate about helping other people and she looks at her participation in this research as a way to give back to the community," says Garcia.

Hemsworth credits Brescia with giving her the tools she needs to enter an internationally recognized PhD program in London, England.

"In the fall, I'll be starting a PhD at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Taking such an important role on the research team at Brescia gave me a lot of experience that was really valuable. I feel really equipped to enter a PhD program because of my experience.

"Going to Tanzania with Dr. Hekmat is experience that gave me an advantage in being accepted into the (PhD) program."

Masters students Lin Yuan and Hoda Soltani are also part of the research team headed by Sharareh Hekmat, professor in Foods and Nutrition at Brescia, and Dr. Gregor Reid, assistant director of the Lawson Health Research Institute and professor of Microbiology & Immunology and Surgery at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario.

Hemsworth was one of four exceptional dietetic students recognized with a Morgan Medal for making a significant mark in nutrition research that may impact health across Canada and around the world. The diverse research projects addressed a wide scope of scientific inquiry - the use of probiotics to improve the quality of life for HIV patients, identifying important disease prevention effects of cranberries, analyzing nutrition messaging in Canadian magazines and studying the relationship of genetics to childhood obesity.

The Morgan Medal program is an annual program of the CFDR. The program demonstrates the organization's commitment to encouraging the profession's researchers of the future - dietitians who will contribute, through their research efforts, to the body of knowledge about food and nutrition, ultimately enhancing the health of Canadians.

The CFDR was created in 1991 by Dietitians of Canada to support applied nutrition and dietetic research. Thanks to the generous support of corporate donors and individual members of Dietitians of Canada, CFDR has awarded research grants annually since 1993. To date, CFDR has funded 93 research teams across the country, awarding more than $1,090,000 in grants.

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