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ABOUT US

The Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center has been a world leader in mineral nutrition research for more than 30 years.

Scientists conduct basic and applied research to expound the role of diet in supporting good health. In the process, the Center generates more knowledge about healthful foods and diets. Research at the national federal facility serves the health needs of all Americans.

The Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, located in northeastern North Dakota, is staffed by 15 senior scientists and more than 160 support personnel. It is one of six Human Nutrition Centers operated by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Grand Forks Center is part of Northern Plains Area of ARS.

The 80,000 square foot building contains state-of-the-art facilities for research with humans and animals, multiple chemical and biochemical laboratories. It has an annual budget of $9 million.

In addition, the Center houses a 14-bed metabolic ward for long-term, residential studies with human volunteers, out-patient facilities and the world’s only mobile nutrition research laboratory.

The Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center is one of the world’s leading facilities for metabolic studies in healthy people and is internationally recognized for its contributions in the area of mineral nutrition.

There are five research teams:

• Nutritional Roles in Cardiovascular Function
• Nutritional Roles in Bone and Joint Health
• Nutritional Roles in Physiological and Psychological Development
• Factors Affecting Mineral Availability
• Nutritional Roles in Gene Expression, Cell Cycle Regulation and Cancer Risk

The Mission of the ARS National Program in Human Nutrition is to conduct basic and applied research to identify and understand how nutrients and other bio-active food components affect health; the ultimate goal of this food-based agricultural research is to identify foods and diets, coupled with genetics and physical activity, that sustain and promote health throughout the life cycle. The emphasis at the GFHNRC is on the mineral elements, including the determination of requirements for minerals to prevent disease and promote health and optimal function throughout life.

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HISTORY

The Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center came about as the result of efforts started in the early 1960’s to consider the need for a national program of human nutrition research. Such a need was addressed by Senator Milton Young of North Dakota in a 1963 report he submitted to the U.S. Congress. That report, prepared by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, outlined the need for an expanded national research program in human nutrition and proposed to establish three regional research laboratories each near a medical school: one each in the North Central, Southeast and Southwest United States.

The Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center was the only laboratory established under the original concept of that report; it was established as a field station of the Vitamins and Minerals Laboratory of the ARS Human Nutrition Division in Beltsville, MD. Planning for the Grand Forks facility began in 1966; the actual construction began in 1969 on land provided by the State of North Dakota. The building, located immediately adjacent to University of North Dakota campus, was completed in September, 1970. Modest by today’s standards, the original building consisted of five research laboratories and an austere 8-bed metabolic ward. The facility was dedicated with a scientific symposium entitled "Newer Trace Elements in Nutrition."

In 1972, the Grand Forks facility was designated a Human Nutrition Research Laboratory of the ARS North Central Region. In 1976, the laboratory’s capabilities were expanded beyond research with experimental animals with the inauguration of an active clinical nutrition research program. In 1977, the laboratory was designated the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center.

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