Our Science

Vision: to understand how food and microbes interact to promote health and prevent disease.

We will use this knowledge in our mission to deliver healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food.

Our research is highly interdisciplinary, bringing together, in a new state-of-the-art building expertise in food science, microbiology, biomathematics and clinical research, working at the frontier of integrated food and health research.

Overview of research at Quadram Institute

As an institute working at the cutting edge of bioscience, we look to adopt the latest technologies and adapt them in innovative new ways, applying these to the pursuit of new knowledge and discoveries in food and health science.

Research Areas

Our research programmes cover these main areas, where we are looking to answer major fundamental questions:

Food Innovation and Health – How can we enhance the quality of food to promote lifelong health?
Gut Microbes and Health – What is a healthy gut, and how is health modulated by our resident gut microbes?
Microbes in the food chain – How can we reduce microbial pathogens in the food chain, and prevent the emergence of antimicrobial resistance?
Food, microbes and public health – How do we translate our research on food, gut microbes and human biology to enhance the health of the population and reduce societal health cost burden, both in the UK and internationally?

Our Targets

Our research targets some of the major challenges that face society, where our bioscience will have significant impact for health across the lifecourse, from when we are born to as we age, as well as ensuring food safety and security, and reduce the burden on healthcare systems.

Research Groups

Delivering to our mission is the responsibility of our research group leaders, recognised experts in their fields who manage small, interdisciplinary research groups. As well as carrying out excellent research, groups host PhD students, reflecting the importance the Quadram Institute places on training the next generation of food and health scientists. Group leaders are encouraged to maximise the societal impacts from their research, driving innovation.

Clinical Research Facility

The Clinical Research Facility hosts health and nutrition research undertaken by researchers from both within and external to the Norwich Research Park.

Research studies involving patients and healthy volunteers will aim to explore how food and nutrition affects health and disease. The results of these trials will lead to new strategies and treatments for improving and preventing diet-related disease.