Research Overview
Dr. Badger is the Director of the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center (ACNC) and principal investigator for the Dietary Factors Research Project within the ACNC. This research focuses on the long-term health consequences of early nutrition and diet, specifically the prevention of adult diseases such as breast, prostate, or colon cancer. Although soy-based infant formulas have been on the market for nearly half a century, few long-term studies have been conducted.
One of the most important environmental components in people’s lives is diet. Therefore, several ACHRI investigators are working together in the areas of nutrition. For years, Drs. Thomas Badger Professor of Gastroenterology and Nutrition in the Department of Pediatrics) and Martin Ronis (Professor of Pediatrics) have been funded by the National Institutes of Health to study the effects of alcohol on specific metabolic systems and on hormones regulating growth and reproduction. Most recently, they have concentrated on hormonally regulated metabolic enzymes that are involved in intermediary metabolism and drug efficacy during development. They have developed several model systems to study such areas as alcohol effects on pregnant women and fetuses. These studies are related to women’s health issues, child development, and long-term health consequences.
RECENT Publications
Badger TM, Ronis MJ, Wolff G, Stanley S, Ferguson M, Shankar K, Simpson P, Jo CH. Soy protein isolate reduces hepatosteatosis in yellow Avy/a mice without altering coat color phenotype. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2008 Oct;233(10):1242-54.
Chen JR, Lazarenko OP, Haley RL, Blackburn ML, Badger TM, Ronis MJ. Short term effects on bone quality associated with consumption of soy protein isolate and other dietary protein sources in rapidly growing female rats. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2008 Nov;233(11):1348-58.
Jing, H., Pivik, R.T., Gilchrist, J.M., Badger, T.M. No difference indicated in EEG power spectral analysis in 3 and 6 months old infants fed soy- or milk-based formula. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 4: 136-145, 2008.
Jing, H., Pivik, R.T., Gilchrist, J. M., Badger, T.M. Early diet affects the development of 3-6 Hz EEG activity in infants. Presented at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, New York, 2008.
Singhal R, Badger TM, Ronis MJ. Rats fed soy protein isolate (SPI) have impaired hepatic CYP1A1 induction by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as a result of interference with aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2008 Mar 1;227(2):275-83.
Singhal R, Shankar K, Badger TM, Ronis MJ. Estrogenic status modulates aryl hydrocarbon receptor--mediated hepatic gene expression and carcinogenicity. Carcinogenesis. 2008 Feb;29(2):227-36.
Ronis MJ, Chen Y, Badeaux J, Badger TM. Dietary Soy Protein Isolate Attenuates Metabolic Syndrome in Rats via Effects on PPAR, LXR, and SREBP Signaling. J Nutr. 2009 Jun 10.
Singhal R, Shankar K, Badger TM, Ronis MJ. Hepatic gene expression following consumption of soy protein isolate in female Sprague-Dawley rats differs from that produced by 17{beta}-estradiol treatment. J Endocrinol. 2009 Jul;202(1):141-52.
*To find publications by this author, please visit Pubmed Central, a National Institutes of Health-operated site for electronic distribution of life sciences research reports.
