News & Research updates

NURTURE 2025, held at St. John's Research Institute, Bengaluru from 21st July to 1st August 2025, was a transformative two-week residential course that brought together 85 early-career nutrition researchers, doctoral students, and public health professionals from India and Sri Lanka, with the central theme: Translating Research to Transform Society. Organized by the Division of Nutrition at St. John’s Research Institute in collaboration with the Nutrition Society of India and ICMR–National Institute of Nutrition, the course offered a powerful blend of lectures, practical workshops, and mentorship from over 40 distinguished national and international faculty Participants explored a broad spectrum of topics including public health nutrition, advances in nutritional science, precision nutrition, implementation science, food systems, maternal and child health, and data-driven approaches using AI and mHealth. Hands-on training in advanced techniques such as body composition assessment techniques, indirect calorimetry, dietary assessment, molecular nutrition techniques, and JAMOVI-based data analysis enriched their practical skills. T The highlight of the course was the keynote address by Dr. Vinod K. Paul (NITI Aayog) who urged the participants to start thinking and planning research studies towards solving major public health nutrition issues particularly in early infancy. Each of the faculty, experts in their fields inspired and motivated the participants to start working towards improving public health nutrition in India and globally. A big thank you to each and every faculty of NURTURE 2025 to making it a grand success. A highlight was the final day panel discussion, where 10 participant groups presented research and implementation proposals to an expert jury. Group 7 was awarded Best Presentation for their impactful study on fortified rice kernel stability in nutrition-sensitive safety net programs. The course concluded with a valedictory session, reflecting the participants’ renewed commitment to evidence-based action in public health nutrition. With a regional NURTURE capsule planned at Assam Agricultural University in October 2025, this initiative continues to grow as a vibrant platform to foster innovation, build capacity, and drive real-world impact in nutrition science.