In a quiet white room, on a gleaming white plate, sits a piece of marinated kabayaki-style eel. Ten tasters are sitting in partitioned cubicles, waiting for a sliding door to reveal their food.

As they try the eel prepared with the traditional Japanese-style marinade, as well as a locally sourced berry-infused sample, Melissa Hamilton watches intently.

There are two key elements to her work: determining the appeal of the eel and kabayaki sauce to consumers and ensuring the health benefits of the food products remain in place after it is prepared. The laboratory is designed to control for as many factors as possible in the sensory survey; Ms. Hamilton can control noise levels, ambiance, temperature, humidity and lighting to ensure participants can focus on the food itself.

Melissa Hamilton

Ms. Hamilton, a master’s student in the boreal ecosystem and agriculture science program at Grenfell Campus, is working to develop the eel and sauce products as functional foods as part of her thesis. This includes determining the potential health benefits and functional ingredients present in the final products, consumer preference and market potential for the developed products.

‘Beyond nutrition’
“Functional food describes food products that have properties beyond nutrition,” she explained. “A berry doesn’t only have sugars to provide energy, it is also a source of polyphenols that can function as antioxidants. These antioxidants help to protect your cells against damage that can lead to disease.”

Ms. Hamilton uses the new Functional Foods Laboratory, part of the $8-million Boreal Ecosystem Research Facility at Grenfell, to prepare food samples for participants and conduct sensory surveys, as well as other laboratories in the facility to analyze ingredients or products for nutrient and contaminant status.

Dr. Raymond Thomas, associate professor and principal investigator of the functional foods research program, and post-doctoral fellow Dr. Natalia Prieto Vidal, manager of the Functional Foods Laboratory, supervise Ms. Hamilton’s work.

Participants in sensory surveys at Grenfell’s Functional Foods Laboratory provide valuable feedback to researchers.

“It's no surprise that functional foods are predicted to be one of the fastest growing trends in the food sector in the next quarter century,” Dr. Thomas said, pointing to factors such as health-conscious consumers, increased research into functional foods health benefits and the ability of industry to use research findings to create new products as major drivers of the predicted growth of functional foods in the food industry.

“These trends point to huge potential for the development of new products as well as the creation of new interests in existing products to satisfy this rapidly expanding niche market.”

The three researchers work closely with industry partner North Atlantic Aquaponics with the aim to produce ready-to-eat eel product for markets in Asia and Canada. The new functional food product will incorporate the benefits of selected Newfoundland and Labrador berries, enhancing the functionality of the kabayaki products.

“This facility enables innovation and technology and has the potential to drive economic development.”

Dr. Kelly Vodden

Ms. Hamilton says participants’ reaction to the product varied, although she did see some trends indicating consumers had a greater preference for one version of the product, which may hold some commercial promise. The next steps are to analyze, refine and test the product to ensure it maintains its nutritional components while also appealing to consumers.

Economic driver
Support for the lab, which operates under the umbrella of Grenfell's Boreal Ecosystem Research Facility, came from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, industry partner Atlantic Aquaponics and Grenfell Campus.

“This collaboration will allow the Boreal Ecosystem Research Facility and Memorial University more generally to further develop its capacity and international reputation in the area of functional foods research and development,” said Dr. Kelly Vodden, associate vice-president, research and graduate studies, at Grenfell Campus.

Dr. Vodden points to a 2014 report by the Canada Trade and Commission Service that estimates the Canadian functional food industry is valued at US$16.4 billion, while in Newfoundland and Labrador it is estimated at US$780 million.

“This facility enables innovation and technology and has the potential to drive economic development.”

Dr. Jeff Keshen is the vice-president for Grenfell Campus. He says research capacity is growing at Grenfell, particularly in areas of strategic importance to the region and the province.

Dr. Jeff Keshen

“Economic diversification and an aging population are two of the most pressing challenges facing Newfoundland and Labrador,” he said. “Both the Functional Foods Lab and the Aging Research Centre opened this year and have great potential to have tangible impacts on the province. They are just two examples of how researchers at Grenfell are increasingly engaged on activities that strengthen the economy, support innovation, generate knowledge, address social needs, enrich culture and protect our natural environment while providing invaluable opportunities to students.”

Aging research
The Aging Research Centre-Newfoundland and Labrador (ARC-NL) is meant to facilitate partnerships and serve as a catalyst for new research initiatives in the area of aging in the province and in small-town, rural and remote communities more broadly.

“Seniors in Newfoundland and Labrador often live in rural and remote communities. As adults get older, their health care, transportation and housing needs change.”

Dr. Veronica Hutchings

The centre is directed by Dr. Veronica Hutchings, a clinical psychologist at Grenfell whose area of expertise is in aging. She points out that Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the oldest populations in Canada, yet the province was the last in the country to establish a centre devoted to the study of aging.

Dr.Veronica Hutchings

“Seniors in Newfoundland and Labrador often live in rural and remote communities,” said Dr. Hutchings. “As adults get older, their health care, transportation and housing needs change. We need to consider what that means in the context of our geography and provide information, solutions and advice that will help older adults age in place for as long as they want to do so.”

From the beginning, the vision for the centre was for research and engagement to be entwined.

ARC-NL works closely with the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research to ensure that all the research it funds is made accessible to the public, through plain language talks, webinars and resources.    

In July 2019, ARC-NL awarded its first round of funding to seven different projects connected to aging.

Dr. Karen Parsons, Faculty of Nursing, is the principal investigator on one of the funded projects.

Throughout her 25-year career at Memorial, Dr. Parsons has focused almost exclusively on the health care of older adults in Newfoundland and Labrador. She and her colleagues look at improving awareness and access to services for seniors with early dementia. The funding from ARC-NL will allow the research team to focus on five communities in Eastern Newfoundland, the Avalon Peninsula and the Burin Peninsula.

Dr. Karen Parsons

“Our long-term goal for this project is to inform the development of resources and best strategies to support a sustainable action plan to enhance access to and uptake of supportive services for seniors and their partners/significant others living at home with dementia in Newfoundland and Labrador,” Dr. Parsons said.

Other ARC-NL funded projects focus on barriers to reporting maltreatment of older adults, maintaining brain health, pain in post-operative care, benzodiazepine use and adverse outcomes, vaccination to reduce age-related mortality and tourism planning for older adults.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador supported the creation of the centre, which is anticipated to inform evidence-based decision-making and service provision by both the provincial government and other health-related organizations.

Vice-president Keshen says this type of impact is important for researchers, students and the wider community.

“Over $2 million in funding was awarded to Grenfell researchers in 2018-19, an increase from $1.5 million in 2017-18. As a result, Grenfell’s research outputs have also increased, with faculty presenting their creative and scholarly activity around the globe,” he said.

“Over the last three years, our researchers have shared their work from across Canada and the U.S., and to Iceland, Japan and Australia through almost 700 papers, posters, exhibitions and performances and more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, with resulting scholarly, policy and regional development impacts.”

Research growth
It’s not just Grenfell Campus where research is growing—significant developments are taking place across many of Memorial’s sites.

“Memorial is committed to intensifying our research activities across our campuses and in all disciplines.”

Dr. Neil Bose

Funding from the Government of Canada’s funding agencies is increasing, graduate programming and enrolment is expanding, strategic partnerships are thriving and critical infrastructure investments are facilitating world-class research.

In fact, in October 2018, Memorial was recognized as the national leader among Canada’s medical universities when it comes to corporate research income growth over a five-year period.

Research Infosource Inc. states that from fiscal years 2013-17, Memorial ranked No. 1 in growth, with an increase of 160.2 per cent. According to the publication, corporate research income is measured by grants and contracts received from corporate sources.

Dr. Neil Bose

“Memorial is committed to intensifying our research activities across our campuses and in all disciplines,” said Dr. Neil Bose, vice-president (research).

“Through increasingly competitive processes, our teams of multidisciplinary researchers continue to obtain funding from government sources and industry partners that allows them to conduct important research in strategic areas for Newfoundland and Labrador, our country and the world.”

Research Infosource also states that in the medical universities category, Memorial ranks No. 2 in the country for research income growth.

According to Dr. Bose, the new data reinforces Memorial’s global reputation as a leading post-secondary institution.

Graduate student growth
As one of the top 20 research universities in Canada, Dr. Bose says Memorial continues to distinguish itself globally in areas of strategic importance, including oceans, genetics, ethnomusicology, North Atlantic archaeology, social enterprise and entrepreneurship.

“Graduate students are key to the prosperity of our province and nation.”

Dr. Aimeé Surprenant

Raising Memorial’s international profile for leading-edge research is attracting top-notch graduate students and faculty to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Over the last decade, graduate enrolment has increased almost 40 per cent—a significant increase, particularly when compared to other Atlantic provinces where the increase is closer to seven per cent.  

“Memorial continues to lead Canada in many aspects of graduate education,” said Dr. Aimée Surprenant, dean, School of Graduate Studies. “The increase in our graduation counts has important implications for Newfoundland and Labrador. Graduate degree holders generally make more money, and are healthier and happier. They challenge us to consider new ways of knowing, which helps our society be more innovative, inclusive and tolerant. Graduate students are key to the prosperity of our province and nation.”