The Waterloo Foundation awards £1.25m to study the impact of nutrition on child brain development

Cardiff University is pleased to announce a landmark gift of £1.25m from The Waterloo Foundation, to support groundbreaking research to further our understanding of how diet impacts brain health.

This gift, the largest to date from the Foundation, will fund the five-year ‘Developing Minds’ programme at the University’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute (NMHII), focusing on the effects of diet and nutrition on children’s neurodevelopment.

With a focus on ‘psychiatric nutrigenomics’ - a new field that examines the interplay between diet, genetics, and mental health, ‘Developing Minds’ aims to uncover how dietary components and their synergies impact brain health. This research will lay the foundation for improved interventions and public health strategies.

This latest gift builds on over a decade of collaboration between Cardiff University and The Waterloo Foundation, whose previous support has underpinned the ‘Changing Minds’ and ‘Future Minds’ initiatives, as well as other University-wide projects.

Heather Stevens, Chair of The Waterloo Foundation, said: “We are proud to support Cardiff University’s pioneering work in psychiatric nutrigenomics with our largest gift to date. By investing in this research, we aim to unlock new pathways to ensure healthier futures for children and communities, both locally and globally.”

The Developing Minds programme will be led by Co-Directors of the NMHII, Professors Jeremy Hall and Adrian Harwood, along with Ros John, Lawrence Wilkinson and Marianne van den Bree. It will build on existing projects which are looking at the biological effects of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Professor Jeremy Hall emphasised the importance of this support:

Dr Karolina Dec has been appointed as Senior Research Fellow for the new programme. Her previous research has shown the importance of lipids in neurodevelopment, and the significance of Omega 3 and Omega 6 in diets. She hopes to build on these findings and further our understanding of how these fatty acids impact the development of our brains.

Professor Adrian J Harwood, Co-Director of NMHII, said:

Together, Cardiff University and The Waterloo Foundation are leading the charge to ensure a brighter, healthier future for the next generation. Find out more about the Developing Minds programme.