Senior Research Fellow
- About
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- Email Address
- s.gratz@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 438675
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Biography
I have obtained my MSc in Human Nutrition from the University of Vienna, Austria (2002) and my PhD in Food Toxicology from the University of Kuopio, Finland (2007). I have joined the Rowett Institute as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow and am now a Principal Investigator in the Gut Health group.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Co-lead of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Team (Rowett Institute)
Member of the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition)
Member of the Human Studies Ethics Review Panel (Rowett Institute)
Member of the Organising Committee of the International Gut Microbiology Symposium series
- External Memberships
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Member of the FSA Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (since 2022)
Editorial board member Frontiers in Predictive Toxicity (since 2010)
- Research
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Research Overview
Impact of diet on intestinal metabolism and gut toxicity
There is strong evidence that our diet influences the healthy function of our intestinal tract. Besides the healthy nutrients, some toxins and carcinogens may also be present in the food we eat and additional toxic compounds can be formed or released by intestinal microbiota.
In my research group we study mycotoxins, which are toxins produced by some specific moulds growing on agricultural crops. We assess the levels of mycotoxins in foods and human exposure to these dietary toxins.
Furthermore we look at how carcinogenic compounds are formed in the gut following high consumption of red meat, and how dietary fibre and Vitamin C can prevent their formation.
This work directly benefits consumers by providing evidence on healthy and safe diets. Read more here
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Nutrition and Health, Biomedical Sciences.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Nutrition and Health
Accepting PhDsBiomedical Sciences
Accepting PhDsCurrent Research
My research investigates the role of the gut microbiota and microbial metabolites derived from dietary components on the health and function of the intestinal epithelium.
In one project we study the role of gut microbiota in the degradation of masked mycotoxins and the detoxification of mycotoxins. This activity of microbiota is important as it releases additional bound mycotoxins into the large intestine. Furthermore we assess human exposure to mycotoxins to estimate the level of potential risk for consumers. For this work we use urinary mycotoxin excretion as biomarker in humans and also analyse cereal foods and raw materials for potential contamination.
Another project assesses the effect of diet composition on microbial metabolites derived from carbohydrate and protein metabolism (e.g. butyrate, ammonia, nitrosamines) and their effects on the intestine. In human intervention studies our volunteers consume diets with different levels of carbohydrate, protein and meat and we measure microbial metabolites in human faecal samples.
Research Team
Ms Margaret-Jane Gordon – Research Assistant
Mr Edward Devlin – PhD student
Ms Nikoleta Boteva – Post-doctoral researcher
Funding and Grants
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Scottish Government RESAS funded programme (2022-2027): Evaluation & mitigation of mycotoxin contamination across the Scottish cereal supply chain to assess human exposure & inform risk analysis. Gratz (PI).
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Probi AB funded research project (2021-2024): Investigating new candidate probiotic strains. Scott & Gratz (Co-I).
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NC3Rs funded PhD studentship grant (2019-2023): Modelling Candida albicans infection of the human gut using human intestinal organoid cultures. Gratz (PI), MacCallum, Munro.
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TENOVUS funded research grant (2018-2021): Application of human intestinal organoids to study food-derived risk factors for inflammatory bowel disease. Gratz (PI).
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MRC funded research grant (2019-2020): Mycotoxin exposure, intestinal inflammation and childhood stunting in India. Gratz (PI), Kyle, Poobalan, DeRoos.
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Interface Multiparty funded research grant (2019-2020): Investigating the risk of mycotoxin contamination as an emerging issue for Scottish oat production. Gratz (PI).
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Probi AB funded research project (2017-2020): Isolation of gut bacteria. Scott & Gratz (Co-I).
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Scottish Government themed programme (2016–2022): Chemical contaminants in the food chain, human exposure & intestinal toxicity. Gratz (PI).
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Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance funded Early career X-change grant (2016). Molecular mechanisms of mycotoxin toxicity towards intestinal cell systems. Gratz (PI).
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DEFRA Food Standards Agency funded research grant (2014-2015): Evaluation of masked mycotoxins in foods and their release and uptake in the gut. Gratz (Co-I). Joint with FERA ltd, York, UK.
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Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board funded PhD studentship grant (2013-2016): Application of association mapping and genomic sequencing to starch and GI in potato. Joint with The James Hutton Institute, Dundee, UK.
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EU FP7 collaborative project SATIN - Satiety Innovation (2012–2016).
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Scottish Government themed programme (2011–2016).
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- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
Course coordinator for MSc courses
- Clinical Nutrition, 2018-present
- Foundations of Human Nutrition, 2016-2018
Lecturing in several courses within the MSc Programme Human Nutrition
Tutor in Research Skills for Medical Sciences (BSc)
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Publications
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Page 1 of 2 Results 1 to 25 of 48
Butyrate-producing bacteria as probiotic supplement: beneficial effects on metabolism and modulation of behaviour in an obesity mouse model
Beneficial Microbes, pp. 1-16Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18762891-bja00040
Frequent Dietary Multi-Mycotoxin Exposure in UK Children and Its Association with Dietary Intake
Toxins, vol. 16, no. 6, 251Contributions to Journals: ArticlesButyrate-producing bacteria as probiotic supplement: beneficial effects on metabolism and modulation of behavior in an obesity mouse model
Working Papers: Preprint Papers- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.02.564919
Free and Modified Mycotoxins in Organic and Conventional Oats (Avena sativa L.) Grown in Scotland
Toxins, vol. 15, no. 4, 247Contributions to Journals: ArticlesComparison of microbial signatures between paired faecal and rectal biopsy samples from healthy volunteers using next-generation sequencing and culturomics
Microbiome, vol. 10, no. 1, 171Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHigher total faecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations correlate with increasing proportions of butyrate and decreasing proportions of branched-chain fatty acids across multiple human studies
Gut Microbiome, vol. 3, e2Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMicrobiota release of bound mycotoxins contributes to human exposure: in vitro and in vivo evidence
Toxicology Letters, vol. 350, no. S, pp. S230-231Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4274(21)00776-1
Gut microbiota metabolise food-derived mycotoxins
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 80, no. OCE2, 57Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665121000690
Prevalent Human Gut Bacteria Hydrolyse and Metabolise Important Food-Derived Mycotoxins and Masked Mycotoxins
Toxins, vol. 12, no. 10, 654Contributions to Journals: ArticlesNondigestible Carbohydrates Affect Metabolic Health and Gut Microbiota in Overweight Adults after Weight Loss
The Journal of Nutrition, vol. 150, no. 7, pp. 1859-1870Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxaa124
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Comparison of meat versus soya based high-protein diets on faecal microbiota and microbial metabolites
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 79, no. OCE3Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120007673
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Intestinal hydrolysis and microbial biotransformation of diacetoxyscirpenol-α-glucoside, HT-2-β-glucoside and N-(1-deoxy-d-fructos-1-yl) fumonisin B1 by human gut microbiota in vitro
International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, vol. 71, no. 5, pp. 540-548Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09637486.2019.1698015
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Multi-mycotoxin exposure assessment in UK children using urinary biomarkers - a pilot survey
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 351-357Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGenoprotective Effects of Essential Oil Compounds Against Oxidative and Methylated DNA Damage in Human Colon Cancer Cells
Journal of Food Science, vol. 84, no. 7, pp. 1979-1985Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.14665
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Dietary carbohydrate rather than protein intake drives colonic microbial fermentation during weight loss
European Journal of Nutrition, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 1147-1158Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPorcine small and large intestinal microbiota rapidly hydrolyze the masked mycotoxin deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside and release deoxynivalenol in spiked batch cultures in vitro
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 1-9Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMasked trichothecene and zearalenone mycotoxins withstand digestion and absorption in the upper GI tract but are efficiently hydrolyzed by human gut microbiota in vitro
Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, vol. 61, no. 4, 1600680Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDo Plant-Bound Masked Mycotoxins Contribute to Toxicity?
Toxins, vol. 9, no. 3, 85Contributions to Journals: Review articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins9030085
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8682/1/toxins_09_00085.pdf
Effects of Dietary Fibre (Pectin) and/or Increased Protein (Casein or Pea) on Satiety, Body Weight, Adiposity and Caecal Fermentation in High Fat Diet-Induced Obese Rats
PloS ONE, vol. 11, no. 5, e0155871Contributions to Journals: ArticlesButyrylated starch intake can prevent red meat induced O6-methyl-2-deoxyguanosine adducts in human rectal tissue: a randomised clinical trial
British Journal of Nutrition, vol. 114, no. 2, pp. 220-230Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114515001750
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/4724/3/S0007114515001750a.pdf
High protein weight loss diets: Their impact on satiety and intestinal health
Protein Diets: Nutritional Sources, Health Benefits and Intake Recommendations. Hudson, M. (ed.). Nova Science Publishers Inc, pp. 31-50, 20 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
High protein weight loss diets – their impact on appetite and intestinal health.
Protein Diets: Nutritional Sources, Health Benefits and Intake Recommendations. Hudson, M. (ed.). Nova Science Publishers Inc, pp. 31-49, 19 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Influence of dietary carbohydrate and protein on colonic fermentation and endogenous formation of N-nitroso compounds
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 74, no. OCE1, pp. E44Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665115000592
Different types of soluble fermentable dietary fibre decrease food intake, body weight gain and adiposity in young adult male rats
Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 11, 36Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-7075-11-36
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/3743/1/1743_7075_11_36.pdf
Annual variation of dietary deoxynivalenol exposure during years of different Fusarium prevalence: a pilot biomonitoring study
Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment, vol. 31, no. 9, pp. 1579-1585Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2014.937772