Balancing nutrients and contaminants in U.S. seafood
Project 1 - Assessing Seafood Composition to Advance Dietary Health in the U.S.
This work looks at what nutrients and harmful contaminants are in the seafood people eat in the U.S. and how those levels come from marine food webs.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11373196 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you eat seafood, this project connects what fish and shellfish eat in the ocean to the vitamins, minerals, and pollutants that end up on your plate. Researchers will analyze marine food webs, measure levels of micronutrients and contaminants like methylmercury and PCBs in fish, and use models to track how those substances move through the ecosystem into commonly eaten species. They will combine those environmental measurements with U.S. seafood consumption data to estimate what people are actually getting from their diets. The goal is to clarify trade-offs between nutritional benefits and contaminant risks for different types of seafood.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people in the U.S. who regularly eat seafood, especially pregnant people, young children, and communities with high fish consumption.
Not a fit: People who do not eat seafood or whose health issues are unrelated to diet or contaminant exposure are unlikely to directly benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could help people choose seafood that gives health benefits while lowering exposure to harmful contaminants and could inform safer public health guidance.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has shown both health benefits of fish and risks from contaminants like methylmercury, but this integrated food-web-to-diet approach is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
La Jolla, United States
- University of California, San Diego — La Jolla, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schartup, Amina Bocary — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Schartup, Amina Bocary
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.