A research of excellence in Nutrition and Health
From laboratory
to society
The research center in Nutrition is an organ of research basic-applied of the University of Navarra, attached to the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition. It carries out a research of excellence in topics related to Nutrition and Health, specifically with the problems of obesity.
It transfers to the industry, especially the food and pharmaceutical industry, the results of the research in order to improve its productivity and support the development of new food products. In addition, it offers industry services related to the areas of nutrition, dietetics, and food in general.
NUTRITION AND MOLECULAR METABOLISM
instructions and new therapeutic strategies in obesity and metabolic syndrome.
PRECISION NUTRITION
Eating behavior habits. New nutritional strategies. Nutrigenomics, epigenetics and metagenomics.
BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS
Bioactive compounds, prebiotics and probiotics. design and development of functional foods.
NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION UNIT
We prepare scientific and technical reports providing a service to all areas of the center.
UNIT OF
METABOLOMICS AND BIOINFORMATICS UNIT
Metabolome study and bioinformatics analysis of data omics (genomics, metagenomics...)
PHENOTYPING UNIT
ANIMAL
Platform that provides service to the groups of research of the University as well as to external groups.
PROJECTS WITH COMPANIES
These are specific research and development+i projects bajo contract, nutritional intervention services, counseling, etc.
Workshop: Frontiers in aging, immune metabolism and inflammation
The Center for Nutrition research of the University of Navarra, together with Springer and Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry, and the partnership of Idisna, CiberOBN and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, organizes at the School of Pharmacy of the University of Navarra the workshop: "Frontiers in aging, immune metabolism and inflammation", which can also be followed in online modality .
June 13, 2025
BIOGREENFOOD
The BIOGREENFOOD project is already producing its first remarkable results. This study is funded by the call for Strategic research and development Projects 2024-2027 of the Government of Navarra and brings together researchers from the University of Navarra, the Public University of Navarra and 7 companies from the agri-food sector. Its goal is to promote the application of (bio)technologies for the development of healthy ingredients through sustainable technological processes.
The team from the University of Navarra includes researchers from the research center in Nutrition (led by Dr. Fermín Milagro and Dr. Carlos González Navarro) and from the department of Microbiology and Parasitology (with researchers Guillermo Martínez de Tejada and Rima El Dirany).
The researcher team is working on the sustainable production of bioactive compounds of health interest from vegetable by-products, such as tomato peel, broccoli and legume flours, by applying fermentation techniques.
So far, 17 bacterial strains have been successfully isolated and identified from the by-products, and simple and scalable methods have been developed to obtain appreciable quantities of molecules involved in anxiety modulation and sleep facilitation.
These results represent a step forward in the process of using vegetable waste in ingredients with added value, promoting a healthier and more sustainable diet, applying biotechnology and identifying new strains with probiotic potential.
DINAMO Community
Last January 24, Dr. Fermín Milagro, Dr. Paula Aranaz and Dr. Eva Almirón from the research center in Nutrition (CIN) attended the event "Comunidad DINAMO" organized by the AdiTech Foundation, where they presented some samples of the recent advances achieved in two of the collaborative projects funded by the Government of Navarra to the CIN in the call 2022-2024.
The collaborative projects SINAI (Navarre System of research and development) are coordinated by ADItech and funded by the Government of Navarra, through the call for grants for the implementation of research and development projects, which SINAI's research and development execution agents develop in partnership.
On this occasion, all SINAI researchers were invited to officially close the 2022-2024 call and to welcome the principal investigators for this year's new calls.
In this context, CIN presented results of the PARABIOTICS and PORTIONS-4 projects, and attended as a representative of the new PORTIONS-V, PARABIOTICS-2 and BIOOLE-UP (2025-2027) projects.
project PLANTOMYC started
Meat analogues from mycelium protein.
We are delighted to announce that our consortium's project proposal , PLANTOMYC, has been awarded EU funding through the HORIZON initiative! With a perfect score , we are one of only two successful applicants out of 59 proposals submitted and we couldn't be prouder. This transformative project goal to revolutionize the alternative protein sector by fusing the benefits of plant-based proteins with the functional and sensory advantages (taste, aroma, texture) of mycelial protein biomass in order to create innovative and minimally processed hybrid meat analogues that are healthy and tasty.
The project has the participation of 12 entities, among them the University of Navarra and is coordinated by RISE PROCESSUM AB (Research Institutes of Sweden). In this project the research center in Nutrition leads one of the 8 defined Work packages. This Work package, of multidisciplinary character, counts with the participation of 8 researchers from the CIN (Fermín Milagro, Iziar Ludwig, Mª Paz de Peña, Pilar Lostao, Paula Aranaz, Miguel López Yoldi and Ana Romo) and 2 from the department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Ariane Vettorazzi and Adriana Rodríguez). The effects of meat analogues and their core topic ingredients on the composition of the intestinal microbiota, the production of specific postbiotics and the permeability of the intestinal epithelium will be studied in vitro, as well as in vivo on obesity-related metabolic alterations, including insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and fatty liver.
The official start of the PLANTOMYC project took place on January 22 and 23 with the Kick-Off Meeting held at the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute (Utrecht).
The next four years promise to be incredible and we look forward to growing and innovating together to make delicious, sustainable food a reality.
Foodtech
25.02.2025
The School of Pharmacy and Nutrition organizes the session "Foodtech. What it is and why it is changing the future of food" with the participation of several experts.
- More information -
International Open Access Week
05.11.2024
Next Tuesday, November 5, the session "The transformation of business models in the academic community: transformative agreements in Spain" will take place. This session will be given by Luis Gonzalo Rey Pinzón, director of the Library Services of the University of La Laguna.
This seminar will take place at classroom Siemens Gamesa at Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) starting at 13:00 hours.
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Parma Summer School - Innovative Food Products
23.09.2024
Summer School "Innovative Food Products" taught virtually and aimed at young professionals, students of doctorate, postdoctoral researchers, as well as other scientists, academics and representatives of public institutions, non-governmental organizations and European agencies. registration free of charge (before June 28) limited to a maximum of 300 students.
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07 | 02 | 2025
University seeks volunteers for weight loss and gut microbiota study
10 | 01 | 2025
The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities awards 5.9 million euros to 36 University projects research
ImagenManuel Castells
17 | 12 | 2024
Collagen, a new ally in weight control and metabolic health
ImagenManuel Castells