Collaborators.
Academic Partnerships
At Balchem, we recognize the value of engaging with a diverse array of scientists across the nutrition community, we are proud to engage directly with multiple academic institutions, trade groups, and non-profit organizations to develop research and help raise awareness about the importance of nutrition for public health.
Cornell University
The Division of Nutritional Sciences (DNS) at Cornell University was established in 1974 and studies human nutrition at levels ranging from molecules to populations, drawing upon the chemical, biological, and social sciences to understand the complex relationships among human health, nutritional status, food and lifestyle patterns, and social and institutional environments.
Balchem is proud to partner with Cornell University scientists on a series of groundbreaking clinical trials demonstrating the impact that VitaCholine® has on the health and wellbeing of expecting moms and their children.
University of North Carolina Nutrition Research Institute (UNC NRI)
The UNC Nutrition Research Institute is an internationally recognized center that conducts innovative basic and translational science studying how individual differences in requirements and responses to diet affect our individual nutritional needs.
The UNC Nutrition Research Institute is home to several pioneers in the field of nutrition, and their team of researchers continue to be at the forefront of choline biology.
Balchem is a proud supporter of the work at NRI, with over $200,000 in donations to date.
Balchem Postdoctoral Fellowship at UNC NRI
Meet Dr. Isis Trujillo-Gonzalez, PhD – Assistant Professor of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Trujillo-Gonzalez is a leading expert on the mechanisms linking choline status and neurodevelopment in health and disease states, and she was the first postdoctoral fellow supported by Balchem at UNC NRI.
Today, Balchem continues this tradition by funding an annual postdoctoral fellowship at NRI to help foster young scientists and advance cutting-edge research in choline biology.
— Dr. Isis Trujillo-Gonzalez, PhD“When private industry supports research, it encourages innovation in the lab and through partnerships that may not be immediately obvious in typical government-granting situations. Specifically, thanks to Balchem Corporation’s generosity, I’ve completed my postdoc fellowship here, which led to my promotion to Assistant professor. Moreover, Balchem Corp supported me one more time by funding my first postdoctoral trainee, who is studying choline and neurodevelopment.
Financial support from companies like Balchem allows us to build the next generation of scientists here at the NRI who will continue solving some of the complex problems around nutrition, diseases, and health.”
Balchem Scientific Advisory Board
Engaging with key opinion leaders for support and to challenge ideas is how science develops. At Balchem, we work with several leading investigators and thought leaders in the field of choline metabolism, chelation chemistry, and nutrition science to help advance our scientific pipeline.
Jonathan Bortz, MD
Dr. Bortz has served as the head of the Scientific Advisory Board since its founding in 2013. SAB members have all been recognized authorities in their respective fields to bring world-class expertise, experience and guidance to Balchem’s science projects and priorities across the entire product portfolio. Jonathan is a diabetes specialist with 15 years of clinical experience prior to transitioning to nutrition science in industry more than 20 years ago.
Jonathan earned his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and completed his Internal Medicine residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio and Fellowship in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.
Robert Doyle, PhD
Professor Doyle is a medicinal chemist with an interest in pharmaceutical drug development focused on the use of the vitamin B12 dietary pathway for delivery of suitable peptides. Rob’s experience as an inorganic chemist has been invaluable to Balchem’s chelated minerals research and development since he joined Balchem’s SAB in 2015.
Rob is Jack and Laura H. Milton Professor of Chemistry at Syracuse University and an Associate Professor of Medicine at SUNY, Upstate Medical University (UMU), in the Department of Medicine and has published over 100 research papers. He completed his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland and post-doctoral fellowships at Australian National University and Yale.
Heidi du Preez, MS
Heidi du Preez PhD candidate, is a registered Professional Natural Scientist specializing in nutritional biochemistry. Heidi obtained a Master’s degree in Food Science. She has been working in the arena of functional medicine for the past 25 years. Heidi is currently pursuing her PhD in Clinical Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Heidi’s area of specialization is sulfur metabolism, which includes methylation, trans-sulfuration and sulfation. Her biochemistry knowledge of these key metabolic pathways has provided deep insight to benefit Balchem’s OptiMSM since she joined the SAB in 2023. She has co-authored several books in nutrition.
Rima Obeid, PhD
Professor Obeid is an authoritative thought leader in One Carbon Metabolism (1CM) and a frequent contributor to expert panels, nutrient guidelines and regulatory questions because of her expertise in evidence-based nutrition and she has been very active in a variety of projects since joining the SAB in 2023.
Rima is a tenured professor and leads the Research and Development in the Department of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine at Saarland University Hospital in Germany. She has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles. She completed a PhD in Clinical Biochemistry at Saarland University, and was a visiting scientist at Aarhus University in Denmark.
Advocacy
Engaging with the broader Nutrition Science community is a key focus for Balchem. Learn more about some of our key engagement and advocacy partnerships with our collaborators.
The American Society for Nutrition (ASN)
Established in 1928, ASN is the leading professional society for nutrition scientists in the world, with over 8000 members across more than 100 countries. With the mission of advancing the science, education, and practice of nutrition, ASN leads efforts to provide science-based nutrition that is essential to advancing knowledge and improving health around the world.
Balchem is a member of ASN’s Sustaining Partner Program, where we help ASN achieve their objectives in the nutrition science community.
Take a look at a recent session held at NUTRITION 2023 on Choline, DHA, and development: ASN Preterm Birth, Neurodevelopment, and Nutrient Status: The Roles of Choline and DHA
Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN)
CRN, founded in 1973 and based in Washington, D.C., is the leading trade association representing dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers. CRN’s mission is to protect and advance a climate for their members to responsibly develop, source, manufacture, and market science-backed dietary supplements, functional food, and their ingredients, for better health and nutrition.
As a member company of CRN, Balchem has been a strong advocate of CRN’s work. Interested in seeing how nutrients in Balchem’s portfolio can help reduce health care spending? See some of the key findings from CRN’s 2022 Supplements To Savings Report:
International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI)
For more than 45 years, ILSI has encouraged multidisciplinary, multisectoral research and international cooperation to best address complex science and health issues. ILSI convenes scientists at the forefront of research on nutrition, food safety and sustainability. Their trusted experts and volunteers around the world work synergistically and transparently across academia and the public and private sectors for the health and benefit of people everywhere.
Spotlight: Applications of Globally Harmonized Research
- Balchem is supporting ILSI’s research portfolio, Applications of Globally Harmonized Nutrients, which aims to introduce published algorithms for nutrient bioavailability. This portfolio will help researchers and other stakeholders bettercharacterize the specific impact that so-called anti-nutrients like oxalate can have on mineral absorption to help develop estimates of the prevalence of inadequate nutrient intake using bioavailability-adjusted requirements. This work will provide valuable insights that can be used to aid efforts in nutrient labeling globally, and aid in the development of national and regional strategies for improving nutrient deficiencies.
- Learn more about the portfolio here: https://ilsiuscanada.org/science-and-research/applications-of-globally-harmonized-nutrients/
Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS)
IAFNS is a charitable, educational, and scientific research organization that acts as a catalyst for the creation of scientific knowledge and dialogue. IAFNS mobilizes government, industry, and academia to drive, fund, and lead actionable research and elevate food safety and nutrition sciences to advance public health. Their work enables solutions that lead to positive change across the entire food and beverage ecosystem.
- Learn more about the IAFNS Cognitive Health Committee and the research Balchem is helping to support here: https://iafns.org/our-work/nutrition/cognitive-health/
