James Brenna
Professor
2009
HENutrSciWeb Bio Page
Current Activities
Current Professional Activities
Current Research Activities
Our laboratory is concerned with three areas, requirements for polyunsaturated fatty acids in the perinatal period, development of advanced analytical chemical instrumentation, particularly mass spectrometry, for biomedical applications, and development of high precision isotope ratio mass spectrometry for anti-doping applications. Our polyunsaturated fatty acid work focuses on factors that influence demand for omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, notably prematurity, and most of our studies are conducted in non-human primates. Our instrumentation work is aimed at development of high precision isotope ratio mass spectrometry for tracer applications and for detection of natural physiological isotopic fractionation. Stable isotope tracer studies of omega-3 fatty acids focus on brain and associated organ development and on improvement of mass spectrometry-based instrumentation for fatty acid studies. Our most recent work involves improvement of methods for detection of illicit doping with performance-enhancing steroids in the context of elite athletics.
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Biography
Biographical Statement
Professor Tom Brenna completed studies in Nutrition and in Chemistry, and his formative research experiences were broadly interdisciplinary. Professionally, this is reflected in graduate field memberships in fields that are centered in Cornell's four large colleges: Nutrition (CHE and CALS), Food Science and Technology (CALS); Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Arts); Geological Sciences (Engineering and CALS), and in a long-standing collaboration with a prominent former member of Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine. His research group has been funded by three institutes at the NIH (NIGMS, NEI, NICHD) and has included at least one active R01 continuously since 1992. These grants have supported fundamental work in the nutrition of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and development of advanced mass spectrometry instrumentation and techniques.
Most of the work of the Brenna Lab ties basic research to public health, and is ultimately motivated by potential application to specific health issues. Some studies are designed with particular, topical public health questions in mind, and the data from these studies has occasionally had immediate implications for public health. The most prominent examples of this type of work are studies in baboons and in piglets to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and metabolism of food sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids. This work often employs stable isotope tracer techniques and molecular mass spectrometry to probe metabolism. Other projects, particularly those that develop instrumentation and methods for mass spectrometry techniques, have a longer term payoff. They are sometimes undertaken for the challenge of making measurements that have never been possible previously, but usually have eventual applications. An example of this area is the development of a novel gas phase reaction for derivatization of polyunsaturated fatty acids for facile determination of double bond structure, which has found applications associated with safety of edible oils, including detection of trans fatty acids. The most recent work involves development of methods for more precise and rapid detection of endogenous performance enhancing drugs, particularly testosterone.
Education
Ph.D. 1985 - Cornell University, Analytical Chemistry
M.S. 1982 - Cornell University, Analytical Chemistry
B.S. 1980 - University of Connecticut, Nutritional Biochemistry
Keywords
Polyunsaturated fatty acids
Brain development
Anti-doping
Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry
Lipidomics
Courses, Websites, Pubs
Courses Taught
- NS 3980 - Research in Health and Nutrition (formerly Honors in Nutritional Sciences)
- NS 6900 - Isotopic and Trace Element Analysis (also Chemistry 628)
- NS 4990 - Honors Research.
Related Websites
Selected Publications
Please see the link under "Related Websites" for access to Professor Brenna's publications.