Professor John Nolan is a Fulbright Scholar and currently holds a Chair for Human Nutrition Research at the School of Health Science, Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland. Prof Nolan is the Founder and Director of the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI) and is also the Principal Investigator of the Macular Pigment Research Group (MPRG, a specialised research group within this centre).
His research group studies the role of nutrition for vision and prevention of blindness. In 2011, Prof Nolan won a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) research grant to study the impact of nutritional supplementation on visual function via two major clinical trials (CREST 281096; Central Retinal Enrichment Supplementation Trials). These trials identified how targeted nutrition can improve visual function for the general population, and for patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Nolan’s work has had a major societal impact for patients suffering with AMD and for enhancing vision of the general population; for recognition, the CREST project was recently selected for presentation at a high-level conference entitled ‘EU Research & Innovation in Daily Life’, which took place at the European Parliament in Brussels to highlight the impact of EU-funded research and innovation in daily life. The nutritional compounds that Prof Nolan and his team identified as essential for supporting retinal health and function now represent a standard of care for patients with AMD.
Prof Nolan has published 101 peer-reviewed scientific papers on his area of research (3982 = citations, H index = 39). In 2014, he successfully edited a CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group book publication entitled “Carotenoids and Retinal Disease.” He has also edited a special issue in the prestigious Journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research (MNF) “Nutrition for the Eye and Brain”. Professor Nolan has editorial roles at the European Journal of Ophthalmology and the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. A major career highlight is his role as Chair of the International Brain and Ocular Nutrition Conference (BON Conference), which is held at Downing College, Cambridge University (www.bonconference.org). See www.profjohnnolan.com for further details and access to the scientific publications.
Sessions
Macular Pigment Supplementation: A prescription for vision and cognitive health