TOPIC: Personalized Nutrition, Functional and Future Foods

The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) invites interested Filipino researchers to submit proposals under the 13th Joint Call for Proposals of the e-ASIA Joint Research Program (e-ASIA JRP) in the fields of health research.

The aim of the Joint Call is to strengthen multilateral collaboration among researchers of the countries participating in the call and to solve issues common across the region, in the overarching area of “Food & Health” on the specific field of Personalized Nutrition, Functional and Future Foods. 

Also, this call emphasizes the pursuit of research excellence in the advancement of food and food processes research to achieve specific health benefits.

Personalized nutrition is an approach to dietary planning and recommendations that considers individual differences in genetics, metabolism, lifestyle, and health status. This tailored approach aims to provide individuals with optimal nutritional guidance based on their unique characteristics, preferences, and needs. People have distinct responses to different foods and nutrients due to genetic makeup, metabolic rate, gut microbiome composition, and other factors. Personalized nutrition recognizes and addresses this variability, ensuring that dietary recommendations are better suited to an individual’s physiology. By tailoring dietary advice to an individual’s specific health goals and needs, personalized nutrition can help prevent and manage various health conditions. It has the potential to optimize weight management, control chronic diseases (like cancers, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions) and reduce the risk of diet-related ailments.

Functional foods play a vital role in modern nutrition by offering specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition. These foods are enriched with bioactive compounds that can contribute to disease prevention and management, bridge nutrient gaps, and promote overall well-being. From enhancing immunity and gut health to supporting weight management and catering to specific populations, functional foods are tailored to address diverse health needs. With an increasing demand for healthier food choices, functional foods have emerged as a way to deliver targeted nutritional advantages, empowering individuals to make informed dietary decisions for improved health outcomes.

Future foods represent a visionary approach to addressing the challenges of a growing global population and a changing environment. These innovative foods explore alternative sources of nutrition, such as plant-based proteins, insect-based ingredients, and lab-cultured proteins. By embracing sustainability, reducing resource consumption, and offering cruelty-free options, future foods pave the way for a more environmentally responsible food system. Technological advancements in biotechnology and food science are harnessed to create nutritious and versatile food sources that can adapt to diverse cultural preferences and dietary needs. With a focus on minimizing the ecological footprint and ensuring food security, future foods offer a promising solution to nourishing the world in a sustainable and ethical manner.

Research Area 

The seven (7) Participating Member Organizations (MOs) will be taking part on the following sub-topics:

Sub-topic 1: Personalized Nutrition

Proposals submitted under sub-topic 1 are encouraged to focus on the specific topics towards:

• Nutrition for patients with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney disease
• Metabolic syndrome, macro-nutrient deficiencies, stunting, obesity, and their associated complications
• Tailoring nutrition for specific age groups or lifestyles, such as older adults, individuals, teenagers, those with active lifestyles, and those requiring nourishment for creative moods

Within this context, this call for proposals welcomes submissions on the following topics: 

1. 1. Nutrigenomics, Nutragenomics, Metagenomics, Metabolomics, Nutrigene- tics and Nutrition Multi-omics
   2. Identification of targets for the development of diagnostics and therapeutics, catering to the populations of each participating country 
   3. Utilization and integration of diverse platforms, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and cutting-edge tools such as bioinformatics, artificial intelligence, and computational pipelines
   4. Multifaceted approach for comprehensive insights into nutrition-related diseases and conditions, achieving higher levels of resolution and translating into practical tools for preemptive lifestyle interventions, improved disease diagnosis and prognosis, predictions of treatment responses
   5. Combined approaches aim to provide a comprehensive panorama of specific human conditions, whether related to diseases or states of health
   6. Policy, regulatory, ethics research and implementation mechanism on personalized nutrition aspect 

Sub-topic 2: Functional & Future Foods 

Proposals submitted to sub-topic 2 are encouraged to focus on the development of functional foods and functional ingredients for specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition. For the future foods, the proposals are encouraged to explore alternative sources of nutrition to address the changes of the global population and environment. 

Within this context, this call for proposals welcomes submissions on the following topics: 

1. 1. Functional foods and functional ingredients derived from grains
      • Comprehensive approach such as distribution mapping and potential assessment to support the utilization of grains for functional foods to meet community needs.
      • Several promising grain crops will be the subject of activities, involving inventory in the target area, morpho-agronomic characterization, and evaluation of nutritional quality
   2. Functional foods and functional ingredients derived from aquatic/sea products such as microalgae species found in local water regions
      • Involves activities like bioprospecting, optimizing nutrition or functional material, health testing through in-vitro/in-vivo approaches, and their application in functional food production
   3. Functional Food derived from Enzymatic pathway
   4. Future Food research in food innovation
      • Alternative Protein: Protein-rich foods derived from cultured, plant-based, insect-based, and myco/algae-based sources. The goal is to create protein sources with nutritional characteristics similar to real meat.
      • Research areas encompass various progenitor cell technologies, technology advancement to enhance cell or protein quantities/qualities within the system, laboratory bioreactors, and the creation of tissue prototypes using structural technologies like Scaffold, Tissue Engineering, 3D bioprinting, and High Moisture Extrusion.
   5. Innovation on Research for Indigenous Food as functional and future foods for a larger and emerging market
   6. Functional and Future Food Market
      • Research and communication on market for functional & future foods
   7. Food safety and Security for Functional and Future Foods
   8. Policy, regulatory, ethics research and implementation mechanism on functional and future foods
      • Policies and guidelines on safety and health claims of functional foods as supported by clinical, biological or in-vitro studies
      • Efficacy and effectiveness studies of the developed potential functional food products
      • Enabling environment for stakeholders 

DOST- PCHRD, as one of the Member Organizations, will select two (2) research proposals under this Call for local funding. 

Review procedures for approval of research grants will be based on a multi-level review process:

1. In-house screening and evaluation in terms of alignment to the research priorities, duplication, and completeness of requirements. 
2. Technical review and scoring by external consultants (Technical Panel) based on the following criteria: 
   1. Relevance & Sensitivity
      • Alignment to national S&T priorities, strategic relevance to national development and sensitivity to Philippine political context, culture, tradition and gender and development.
   2. Technical/Scientific Merit
      • Sound scientific basis to generate new knowledge or apply existing knowledge in an innovative manner. 
   3. Financial Feasibility 
      • Financial viability of the undertaking with proponent’s and institutional capacity to manage R&D funds vis-à-vis the proposed work plan and budget 
   4. Proponent’s / Institutional Capacity 
      • Good track record or CV with proven competence to implement and complete the R&D program / project within the approved duration and budget. 
   5. Program Contribution 
      • How much will the proposal contributes to the overall achievement of the program and what are its other potential socio-economic, environmental, and health impact? 
3. Final approval by the PCHRD Governing Council or the PCHRD Executive Director depending on the recommended total budgetary requirement of the proposal. 

Who may apply for the grant?

Filipinos with at least a Master’s Degree in a relevant field, have proven research competence / track record, and employed in universities/colleges, research agencies/institutes, hospitals, and other health related agencies are eligible to apply for the research grant. 

How to apply:

Interested researchers shall ensure to be part of the research consortium before submitting their local proposal to the DOST – PCHRD. The consortium shall be led by a lead Principal Investigator (PI) that will be responsible running and managing the project and will be the one to submit the main proposal to the e-ASIA JRP Secretariat (Please refer to the main e-ASIA Main Call at https://www.the-easia.org/jrp/)

A project consortium must be consisted of at least three eligible research teams from at least three different participating countries listed below: 

1. Australia: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
2. Cambodia: Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (MISTI)
3. Indonesia: National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)
4. Lao PDR: Ministry of Health (MOH)
5. Myanmar: Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)
6. Philippines: Department of Science and Technology (DOST- PCHRD)
7. Thailand: Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research, and Innovation (PMU-B) 

The interested researchers shall submit their application using the DOST Proposal format through the DOST Project Management Information System (DPMIS) (http://dpmis.dost.gov.ph/). 

When submitting your application, please follow these steps: 

1. Register and create an account in the DOST DPMIS website
2. If you already have an account, simply login to your DPMIS account.
3. Select Type of Proposal: 13th e-Asia Joint Research Program (the e-Asia JRP) for Health Research.
4. Select Classification: New Proposal

Documents Required: 

Your application shall include the following documents:

1. DOST Proposal Form
2. Supplemental Files such as:
   1. Informed Consent Form, if applicable
   2. Case Report Form, if applicable
   3. Endorsement of Agency Head
   4. Curriculum Vitae of Proponent(s)
   5. Duties and Responsibilities of each Project Personnel
   6. Letter of request addressed to:

The Executive Director
Philippine Council for Health Research and Development
Department of Science and Technology
Saliksik Building, DOST Science Complex, Gen. Santos Avenue
Bicutan, Taguig City, Metro Manila

DOST-PCHRD will also require the proponent to submit the following documents before the start of project implementation: 

• Biosafety Clearance, if applicable
• Institutional Animal Care and Use Clearance, if applicable 
• Bureau of Animal Industry Clearance, if applicable
• Ethics Clearance (for studies involving human subjects)

Deadline for online submission will be on or before 5:00 PM of 04 April 2024 (Philippine Standard Time) through the DOST DPMIS website. Submission via emails and hardcopies will not be accepted.

IV. Funding Support Available

DOST-PCHRD will allocate up to 87,000 USD (PhP 5,000,000) for each research project for a duration of 36 months or (3) three years. DOST Grants in Aid guidelines shall be applied.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For Philippine Council for Health Research and Development: 

Mr. Vincent John H. Tumlos

Office of the Executive Director

Email: vhtumlos@pchrd.dost.gov.ph 

Mr. Paul Ernest N. De Leon

Research and Development Management Division 

pndeleon@pchrd.dost.gov.ph 

For e-ASIA Joint Research Program: 

Yukio Kemmochi, PhD (Mr.) 

e-ASIA JRP Secretariat 

E-mail: easia_secretariat@jst.go.jp

For further information on the complete package of the Call and the application procedures of the 13th Joint Call of the e-ASIA JRP, you may visit the e-ASIA website: https://www.the-easia.org/jrp/ .