Andong ‘Andy’ Zhu is currently undertaking his PhD with Murdoch University’s Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC), under the supervisor of Associate Professor Dr Ruey-Leng Loo and Professor Elaine Holmes.
His research is titled “Evaluating the acute effect of consuming inulin-based fibres on gut transit time and metabolic biochemistry in adults”. This project aims to investigate the effects of inulin-based fibres with varying chain lengths on the metabolic profiles of human urine and plasma using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolic profiling approach. This project seeks to understand how the variations in inulin chain lengths affect how quickly the inulin molecules reach the lower gut and ultimately induce biochemical changes in the body that will have an impact on human health.
Andy is excited about this project because the results from this proof-of principle acute human dietary study can provide valuable insights into how different size of inulin are metabolized by the human body and elicit a health impact. Also, this project will disseminate knowledge and drive advancement in the field of personalised nutrition.
