NTU Team Receives Milton L. Sunde Award for Outstanding Animal Research

Prof. Shih-Torng Ding (丁詩同) and his student, Dr. Meng-Tsz Tsai (蔡孟詞), from the NTU Department of Animal Science and Technology received the Milton L. Sunde Award for their research paper published in the Journal of Nutrition, “Identification of Potential Plasma Biomarkers for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by Integrating Transcriptomics and Proteomics in Laying Hens ” (J. Nutr. 2017; 147: 293–303; doi: 10.3945/jn.116.240358).

The Milton L. Sunde Award is awarded annually by the American Society for Nutrition (ANS) to an outstanding research paper in the Journal of Nutrition that has made the most significant contribution to nutrition studies using the avian species. The award is presented to the receiver(s) at the ANS Annual Meeting.

This award-winning study used adult laying hens to identify potential biomarkers for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in order to develop a model for examining and preventing chicken and human NAFLD. Humans and chicken use the liver for over 90% of de novo lipogenesis, making adult chicken with age-associated steatosis an appealing animal model for studying human NAFLD. Given the lack of precise plasma biomarkers for chicken NAFLD, the team spent five years experimenting with adult laying hens, applying genomic and proteomic techniques to identify four potential NAFLD biomarkers: AACS, DPP4, GLUL, and GST. The team also determined that betaine and DHA supplementation can ameliorate liver steatosis. These findings can be used to reduce NAFLD among lying hens and the sudden death caused by fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome, as well as provide references for developing prevention measures for human NAFLD and liver cirrhosis.