The Nutrition Core consists of the Nutrition Assessment Unit and the Dietary Assessment Unit and is overseen by Babette Zemel, PhD, Scientific Director, and Charlene Compher, RD, PhD, Technical Director.
The Nutrition Assessment Unit of the Nutrition Core is a state-of-the-art facility for the assessment of growth and body dimensions, body composition (the amount of muscle, fat and bone in the body), energy expenditure, bone density, and muscle strength. The Unit has two locations and four experienced technicians for performing research assessments. Services provided by the Nutrition Assessment Unit include:
The Dietary Assessment Unit of the Nutrition Core provides a broad range of nutrition-related research services to investigators at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC). Services include:
We can develop methodologies for research protocols including:
Metabolic/controlled nutrient diet plans
Monitoring plans during a controlled diet
Food frequency questionnaires, food records, and nutrition data collection forms
Special meals designed by protocol parameters
Duplicate, weighed meals for nutrient balance studies
We can provide customized nutritional counselling interventions for inpatient and outpatient research protocols.
Study Coordinator training for nutrition data collection
Family and study subject training on proper methods for weighing and measuring food items for food recalls/records
The metabolic kitchen can provide numerous services including:
Recipe development and modification
Food product design and production for study interventions
Calculation and serving of special research diets, including constant diets and regulated fluid intake
