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FAC U LT Y PERSPECTIVE Dr. Marie van der Merwe is an associate professor in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Memphis. She teaches classes on micronutrient metabolism and the role of exercise and nutrition in immunology. Her research laboratory focuses on the manipulation of the immune system using nutrients such as fatty acids and nutraceuticals with the longterm goal of regulating chronic diseases.
A native of South Africa, van der Merwe has a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology. Her postdoctoral fellowship was spent in the Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she developed her love for the field of immunology. Following her time at St. Jude, she joined the CHS faculty in 2014. She is a co-founder of the Healthy Eating Institute at the UofM and the program coordinator for the Applied Physiology & Nutrition doctoral program set to launch in fall 2022.
Q: What is the focus of your research laboratory? A: The focus of my research program is how nutrition affects the immune system and how this can be manipulated to improve health. I am very interested in not only diet but also in the timing of nutrient intake.
Q: In addition to teaching and your lab, what are some other projects or programs you are involved with? A: Over the past couple of years, I have become very
interested in developing programs where we can use the scientific knowledge gained in the lab to improve the health of the community through better eating habits. In a collaboration including faculty in Nutrition Science, Clinical Nutrition and the Loewenberg School of Nursing, we are developing a
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curriculum for an after-school food literacy program targeting middle school children. The curriculum is built on developing practical knowledge and skills that will result in behavior changes that optimize health. We just finished a pilot of the program and hope to start offering classes in the fall. Our goal is to obtain external funding so that any child, irrespective of ability to afford these classes, will be able to participate. I have also worked with Nutrition and Computer Science students to develop a meal ordering system called MemphisEATS. Using either the app or website, healthy and affordable meals prepared in the Tiger Food Lab on campus can be ordered through MemphisEATS. The goal is to give people with limited time an option for affordable, nutritious meals.
Q: Are there any particular breakthroughs or discoveries from your career as a researcher to this point that stand out for you?