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Dr Honglin Dong

Lecturer in Nutrition

School of Health & Psychological Sciences Department of Health Services Research and Management

Contact details

Address

Dr Honglin Dong City, University of London
Northampton Square
London EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom

About

Overview

Dr Dong is a lecturer in Nutrition at the School of Health Sciences. She has a medicine degree in China (Southeast University, first class); her passion for human nutrition brought her to the UK to study an MSc degree in Human Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Aberdeen in 2007. She received a full scholarship for her PhD in Human Nutrition at the University of Reading in 2008. She worked as a Postdoc Research Associate in Reading for 4 years after she finished her PhD in 2011. She took a lectureship in Human Nutrition at Coventry University in April 2015 and started her career in City as a lecturer in Nutrition in October 2021.

Qualifications

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
PhD in Human Nutrition, The University of Reading
MSc in Human Nutrition and Metabolism, University of Aberdeen
BSc in Clinical Medicine, Medical School of Southeast University, China

Memberships of professional organisations

Fellow of The Higher Education Academy
Member of Nutrition Society UK
Member of American Nutrition Society
Registered Nutritionist (RNutr) of the Association for Nutrition (AfN)

Research

Research interest

Her research interests include randomised controlled trials or cross-sectional studies investigating the effect of dietary intervention (e.g. dietary fibre, probiotics, supplementation etc.) on immune function, appetite, weight management and cardiometabolic risks. Currently her research focuses on the influence of vitamin D supplementation on the immune function and cardiovascular risks, and how genetic variants of vitamin D influence vitamin D status in different ethnic backgrounds (e.g. Caucasians, African-Caribbeans, South Asians). She is also interested in the association of nutrition and lifestyles with bone and mental health in young adults (e.g. university students).

Research experience and skills

Her PhD project investigated the effect of probiotics on immune function. It involved intensive lab work in cell culture, ELISA and flow cytometry and a randomised control trial (RCT) with older people. Her postdoc work involved four nutritional intervention trials, investigating the effect of prebiotics and probiotics on the immune response to influenza vaccination in healthy young and old volunteers, the postprandial effect of polyphenols and fibres in orange juice on the risk factors of cardiovascular disease in male adults, the effect of different dietary fibres on satiety in healthy volunteers, and the effect of milk proteins on cardiovascular function and risk factors of heart disease. She worked independently or in a team going through all of the procedures such as study design, recruiting volunteers, conducting trials, ethics approval, data analysis and project report. She is also qualified and well-practiced in phlebotomy.

Research grant

 Director of Studies of a PhD student, with research project titled as “Vitamin D status and COVID-19: do low vitamin D levels in at-risk groups including BAME correlate with severity of COVID-19” full studentship supported by Coventry University  Principal Investigator (PI) for the internal Pump-prime Grant Scheme (£10000) in March 2018 supported by Coventry University for a RCT "Influence of vitamin D supplement on immune function of the healthy elderly"  PI for a research grant application to MRC PHIND for a proposal titled 'Vitamin D supplementation and cardiovascular heath and sleep in South Asian and African-Caribbean adults: a randomised double-blind control trial', awaiting for the results.

Topic Editor

Topic Editor for the Research Topic "Rising Stars in Nutrition and Inflammation", Frontiers in Nutrition and Frontiers in Immunology

Publications

Publications by category

Journal articles (21)

  • Dong, H., Farnaud, S. and Renshaw, D. (2022). Influence of Vitamin D Supplement on Immune Function of the Older Healthy People: A Pilot Randomised Control Trial. Current Developments in Nutrition, 6(Supplement_1), pp. 976–976. doi:10.1093/cdn/nzac068.005.
  • Dong, H., Asmolovaite, V., Marseal, N. and Mearbon, M. (2022). Vitamin D status and dietary intake in young university students in the UK. Nutrition & Food Science, 52(4), pp. 616–626. doi:10.1108/nfs-07-2021-0201.
  • Enani, S., Przemska-Kosicka, A., Childs, C.E., Maidens, C., Dong, H., Conterno, L. … Yaqoob, P. (2018). Impact of ageing and a synbiotic on the immune response to seasonal influenza vaccination; a randomised controlled trial. Clinical Nutrition, 37(2), pp. 443–451. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2017.01.011.
  • Przemska-Kosicka, A., Childs, C.E., Maidens, C., Dong, H., Todd, S., Gosney, M.A. … Yaqoob, P. (2018). Age-Related Changes in the Natural Killer Cell Response to Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Are Not Influenced by a Synbiotic: a Randomised Controlled Trial. Frontiers in Immunology, 9. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2018.00591.
  • Rendeiro, C., Dong, H., Saunders, C., Harkness, L., Blaze, M., Hou, Y. … Spencer, J.P.E. (2017). Flavanone-rich citrus beverages counteract the transient decline in postprandial endothelial function in humans: a randomised, controlled, double-masked, cross-over intervention study — CORRIGENDUM. British Journal of Nutrition, 118(8), pp. 638–638. doi:10.1017/s0007114517002057.
  • Rendeiro, C., Dong, H., Saunders, C., Harkness, L., Blaze, M., Hou, Y. … Spencer, J.P.E. (2016). Flavanone-rich citrus beverages counteract the transient decline in postprandial endothelial function in humans: a randomised, controlled, double-masked, cross-over intervention study. British Journal of Nutrition, 116(12), pp. 1999–2010. doi:10.1017/s0007114516004219.
  • Dong, H., Sargent, L.J., Chatzidiakou, Y., Saunders, C., Harkness, L., Bordenave, N. … Lovegrove, J.A. (2016). Orange pomace fibre increases a composite scoring of subjective ratings of hunger and fullness in healthy adults. Appetite, 107, pp. 478–485. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2016.08.118.
  • Przemska-Kosicka, A., Childs, C.E., Enani, S., Maidens, C., Dong, H., Dayel, I.B. … Yaqoob, P. (2016). Effect of a synbiotic on the response to seasonal influenza vaccination is strongly influenced by degree of immunosenescence. Immunity & Ageing, 13(1). doi:10.1186/s12979-016-0061-4.
  • Dong, H., Rendeiro, C., Kristek, A., Sargent, L.J., Saunders, C., Harkness, L. … Lovegrove, J.A. (2016). Addition of Orange Pomace to Orange Juice Attenuates the Increases in Peak Glucose and Insulin Concentrations after Sequential Meal Ingestion in Men with Elevated Cardiometabolic Risk. The Journal of Nutrition, 146(6), pp. 1197–1203. doi:10.3945/jn.115.226001.
  • You, J., Dong, H., Mann, E.R., Knight, S.C. and Yaqoob, P. (2014). Probiotic modulation of dendritic cell function is influenced by ageing. Immunobiology, 219(2), pp. 138–148. doi:10.1016/j.imbio.2013.08.012.
  • Dong, H., Rowland, I., Thomas, L.V. and Yaqoob, P. (2013). Immunomodulatory effects of a probiotic drink containing Lactobacillus casei Shirota in healthy older volunteers. European Journal of Nutrition, 52(8), pp. 1853–1863. doi:10.1007/s00394-012-0487-1.
  • You, J., Dong, H., Mann, E.R., Knight, S.C. and Yaqoob, P. (2013). Ageing impairs the T cell response to dendritic cells. Immunobiology, 218(8), pp. 1077–1084. doi:10.1016/j.imbio.2013.02.002.
  • Przemska, A., Maidens, C., Childs, C., Dong, H., Tuohy, K., Rowland, I. … Yaqoob, P. (2013). Effects of Bifidobacteriumlongum bv. Infantis CCUG 52486 combined with glucooligosaccharide on immune cell populations in healthy young and older subjects receiving an influenza vaccination. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72(OCE1). doi:10.1017/s0029665113000451.
  • Childs, C.E., Przemska, A., Maidens, C., Dong, H., Dayel, I.B., Fekete, A.A. … Yaqoob, P. (2013). Bifidobacterium longum bv. infantis CCUG 52486 combined with gluco-oligosaccharide significantly reduces the duration of self-reported cold and flu-like symptoms among healthy older adults after seasonal influenza vaccination. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72(OCE1). doi:10.1017/s0029665113000128.
  • Dong, H., Rowland, I. and Yaqoob, P. (2012). Comparative effects of six probiotic strains on immune functionin vitro. British Journal of Nutrition, 108(3), pp. 459–470. doi:10.1017/s0007114511005824.
  • Pérez-Cano, F.J., Dong, H. and Yaqoob, P. (2010). In vitro immunomodulatory activity of Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 and Lactobacillus salivarius CECT5713: two probiotic strains isolated from human breast milk. Immunobiology, 215(12), pp. 996–1004. doi:10.1016/j.imbio.2010.01.004.
  • Dong, H., Rowland, I., Tuohy, K.M., Thomas, L.V. and Yaqoob, P. (2010). Selective effects of Lactobacillus casei Shirota on T cell activation, natural killer cell activity and cytokine production. Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 161(2), pp. 378–388. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2249.2010.04173.x.
  • Dong, H., Rowland, I., Tuohy, K.M., Thomas, L.V. and Yaqoob, P. (2010). Effects of Lactobacillus casei Shirota on immune function. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 69(OCE3). doi:10.1017/s0029665110000327.
  • Pérez-Cano, F.J. and Yaqoob, P. (2010). In vitro immunomodulatory activity of two probiotic strains isolated from human breast milk: Lactobacillus salivarius CECT5713 and Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 69(OCE3). doi:10.1017/s0029665110000315.
  • Dong, H., Rowland, I., Tuohy, K.M., Thomas, L. and Yaqoob, P. (2010). Effects of Lactobacillus casei Shirota on immune function. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 69(OCE1). doi:10.1017/s0029665109992199.
  • Dong, H., Rowland, I., Tuohy, K.M. and Yaqoob, P. (2010). The effect of different probiotic strains on immune function in vitro. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 69(OCE6). doi:10.1017/s0029665110002624.

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