A Ge n e De t e c t i v e
Linking Nutrition to Brain Development

Photo by Rich Fowler

Dr. Jiannan Song became a physician so he could take care of sick people. But as he approached his sixth year of medical school at China Medical University in Tianjin, China, Song realized he could do even more for his patients and the field of medicine.

“I think preventing sickness is much more important than treating it,” said Song, who is now completing his second year of doctoral studies in nutrition at Carolina, with help from a fellowship in the prestigious Royster Society of Fellows.

Song said his goal is to do research that could help stop the progression of disease or even prevent certain illnesses from occurring at all.

“People who have good nutrition can recover from illness more quickly than patients with unhealthy diets,” Song said. “And I believe nutrition is extremely important for preventing certain diseases.”

Song studies a gene called ApoE, which he thinks is responsible for delivering choline to human tissues. Choline, which is found in many foods and highest in eggs and soybean products, is essential for proper brain development, especially during gestation when organ growth is quickest, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

Rats and mice that don’t get enough choline during gestation seem to be less intelligent and have less memory capacity than rats and mice that have diets high in choline. Simply put: more choline, smarter babies — less choline, less intelligent babies.

Studies have shown that disabling the ApoE gene also makes mice less intelligent, which is why Song believes ApoE plays a role in choline delivery. If he’s right, Song’s research could be the groundwork for designing an improved diet for pregnant women and their children.

Song takes great pride in his work because it’s on the cutting edge of medical research. But more importantly, he is grateful for the chance to realize a lifelong goal.

For Song’s parents, graduate study was an impossible dream. In the late 1960s, the communist government in China outlawed almost all higher education for about a decade. As a result, Song’s parents never let him forget that graduate study is vital for personal development and success.

While Song strives to achieve his goals, the UNC-Chapel Hill graduate school carries on its tradition of academic excellence and innovation by recruiting bright students like Song.

“We seek to bring the best and brightest to Chapel Hill,” said Dr. Steven Zeisel, professor and chairman of the nutrition department at Carolina. “Students like Jiannan bring great resources to the University, and they often become the next generation of professors.”

Song intends to live up to the high expectations of his peers and advisors. He plans to one day become a professor in a teaching hospital and to continue his research in nutrition and disease prevention.

In the meantime, Song’s life couldn’t be better. Unlike many international scholars who must pursue their dreams alone, Song didn’t have to choose between love and work. His wife, Xiaonan, who is also a physician, transferred to Carolina from the University of Kentucky last summer so they could work together in the same lab.

In addition to class and laboratory analyses, Song must check on his mice daily. He sometimes gets so busy with his mice that he has to prepare a whole week of meals for himself on Sunday.

“My mice get private housing and full board service, but I have to cook for myself when I can find the time.” Song said. “But every couple of weeks, I treat my wife and myself to Chinese food to cure homesickness.”

- Tania E. Zeigler

© 2002, The Graduate School, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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