Dr. David Ma is a Full Professor in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Guelph with cross appointments in the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition (UofG) and Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Research is focused on understanding the role of dietary fats in human health and disease. Our work seeks to advance cutting edge research to better understand the role of fats throughout the lifecycle from the early beginnings of life to old age in both the prevention and treatment of disease. Increasing evidence links early life exposure to specific fats and long term risk of developing chronic diseases later in life such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s disease. A
Currently, our work is focused on understanding the role of omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of breast cancer, relationship between circulating fatty acids and health conditions towards developing fatty acid reference ranges, nutrigenomics and the study of diet-gene interactions, and examining determinants of health in families with young children in the Guelph Family Health Study. New research is expanding to understand the role of fats in mild traumatic brain injury & concussion, and interaction bet