About
Our human nutrition research uses small controlled feeding trials, randomized controlled trials, and large population-level cohorts to advance knowledge regarding the short and long term impacts of maternal dietary choline intake.
We use experimental methods to identify the optimal amount of choline to be consumed during pregnancy, with respect to child cognitive outcomes. We examine the causal effects of maternal choline supplementation on offspring memory, attention, information processing speed, and executive functioning from early infancy into childhood. We seek to advance scientific knowledge and understanding of how variations in maternal choline intake affect offspring neurobehavioral development from infancy into old age. In addition, we seek to provide evidence that will inform dietary intake guidelines for pregnant women.
Projects
Cholbabies investigates the effects of prenatal choline supplementation vs. placebo on infant cognition in the areas of reaction time and anticipatory eye movements, which predicts working memory and problem-solving later in life.
The Cholteens study is the first study to explore the long-term effect of maternal prenatal choline intake on memory, attention, executive functioning and emotional well-being. This novel, fully-virtual 14-year follow-up of a controlled feeding study done in our lab uses Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB Connect), the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) Youth Self Report (YSR) questionnaire and Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition Revised to assess adolescent offspring cognition.
We’re teaming up with the team at Harvard’s Project Viva for the first study to explore associations between maternal choline intake and inflammation during pregnancy. This population-level epidemiological analysis will provide initial evidence toward the potential beneficial impact of choline on inflammation during pregnancy.
The future is team science! With initial findings from our Project Viva work, we are teaming up with collaborators at the University of Alberta to try and replicate our findings and amass more evidence regarding the relationship between choline intake and inflammation in pregnancy.
Team
We provide students with opportunities to hone skills in study management, statistical analysis and scientific communication; they gain invaluable knowledge about nutrition, biochemistry, maternal health, and psychology. We prepare our students for their next professional step through regular opportunities to write, publish and present their work.
Dr. Barbara Strupp, professor emeritus
Barbara Strupp has served as a professor at Cornell University for over 30 years, with appointments in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Department of Psychology. Over this time, her research has focused on studying environmental influences (nutritional, neurotoxicant, drug exposure) that can adversely affect brain development and ultimate cognitive functioning, and testing potential therapies. Her current research focuses on the effects of maternal choline intake during pregnancy on offspring cognition, in both animal models and humans.
Richard Canfield, senior research associate
Richard Canfield is a developmental psychologist whose research is grounded in basic developmental science and is aimed a leveraging basic science to understand and characterize the effects of early exposures on lifelong cognitive functioning.
Elisabeth Anne Larson MSc, Ph.D. candidate
Lisa received her BSc. in nutrition and dietetics from New York University, summa cum laude, and her MSc. in human nutrition from the University of Copenhagen where she received a 12/12 on her thesis. She has worked in numerous research settings, running clinical trials portfolios for breast cancer chemotherapies and evaluating the impact of mentorship on eating disorder recovery, but her passion is in maternal and child nutrition. Her current work focuses on maternal choline intake and its impact on the health of both the pregnant mother and her offspring.
Undergraduate student research assistants
Angie Lam
Joyce Shinyuan Wang
Nicole Gabriel
Angelina Ge
Judit Laidlaw
Ryan Yang
Gabriella Javier
Aleha Syed
Publications
LARSON EA, ZHAO Z, BADER-LARSEN KS, MAGKOS F. EGG CONSUMPTION AND GROWTH IN CHILDREN: A META-ANALYSIS OF INTERVENTIONAL TRIALS. FRONT NUTR. 2024 JAN 5;10:1278753. DOI: 10.3389/FNUT.2023.1278753. PMID: 38249601; PMCID:PMC10796599.
BAHNFLETH C, STRUPP BJ, CAUDILL MA, CANFIELD RL. PRENATAL CHOLINE SUPPLEMENTATION IMPROVES CHILD SUSTAINED ATTENTION: A 7-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED FEEDING TRIAL. FASEB J, 2022; 36:E22054. DOI:10.1096/FJ.20210 1217R
KLATT KC, MCDOUGALL MQ, MALYSHEVA OV, TAESUWAN S, LOINARD-GONZÁLEZ AAP, NEVINS JEH, BECKMAN K, BHAWAL R, ANDERSON E, ZHANG S, BENDER E, JACKSON KH, KING DJ, DYER RA, DEVAPATLA S, VIDAVALUR R, BRENNA JT, CAUDILL MA. PRENATAL CHOLINE SUPPLEMENTATION IMPROVES BIOMARKERS OF MATERNAL DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID (DHA) STATUS AMONG PREGNANT PARTICIPANTS CONSUMING SUPPLEMENTAL DHA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. AM J CLIN NUTR. 2022 SEP 2;116(3):820-832. DOI: 10.1093/AJCN/NQAC147. PMID: 35575618; PMCID: PMC9437984.
CAUDILL MA, STRUPP BJ, MUSCALU L, NEVINS JEH, CANFIELD RL. MATERNAL CHOLINE SUPPLEMENTATION DURING THE THIRD TRIMESTER OF PREGNANCY IMPROVES INFANT INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED: A RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE-BLIND, CONTROLLED FEEDING STUDY. FASEB J. 2018 APR;32(4):2172-2180. DOI: 10.1096/FJ.201700692RR. EPUB 2018 JAN 5. PMID:
29217669; PMCID: PMC6988845.
POWERS BE; VELAZQUEZ R, ASH JA, GINSBURG SD, MUFSON EJ, STRUPP, BJ. MATERNAL CHOLINE SUPPLEMENTATION AS A POTENTIAL THERAPY FOR DOWN SYNDROME: ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS THROUGHOUT THE LIFESPAN. FRONT AGING NEUROSCI. 2021 OCT 6;13:723046. DOI: 10.3389/FNAGI.2021.723046.
ECOLLECTION 2021. HOWARD S., BEAUDIN SA, STRUPP BJ, SMITH DR. MATERNAL CHOLINE SUPPLEMENTATION LESSENS THE BEHAVIORAL DYSFUNCTION PRODUCED BY DEVELOPMENTAL MANGANESE EXPOSURE IN A RODENT MODEL OF ADHD. NEUROTOXICOLOGY AND TERATOLOGY, 2024 MAR-APR;102:107337. DOI: 10.1016/J.NTT.2024.107337. EPUB 2024 FEB 27.
Powers BE, Velazquez R, Strawderman MS, Ginsberg SD, Mufson EJ, Strupp BJ. Maternal Choline Supplementation as a Potential Therapy for Down Syndrome: Assessment of Effects Throughout the Lifespan. Front Aging Neurosci. 2021 Oct 6;13:723046. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.723046. PMID: 34690739; PMCID: PMC8527982.
Bahnfleth CL, Strupp BJ, Caudill MA, Canfield RL. Prenatal choline supplementation improves child sustained attention: A 7-year follow- up of a randomized controlled feeding trial. FASEB J. 2022;36:e22054. doi:10.1096/fj.20210 1217R
Alldred, M. J., Chao, H. M., Lee, S. H., Beilin, J., Powers, B. E., Petkova, E., Strupp, B. J., & Ginsberg, S. D. (2019). Long-term effects of maternal choline supplementation on CA1 pyramidal neuron gene expression in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. FASEB journal, 33(9), 9871–9884.
Kelley, C. M., Ginsberg, S. D., Alldred, M. J., Strupp, B. J., & Mufson, E. J. (2019). Maternal Choline Supplementation Alters Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Neuron Gene Expression in the Ts65Dn Mouse Model of Down Syndrome. Developmental neurobiology, 79(7), 664–683.
Alldred, M. J., Chao, H. M., Lee, S. H., Beilin, J., Powers, B. E., Petkova, E., Strupp, B. J., & Ginsberg, S. D. (2018). CA1 pyramidal neuron gene expression mosaics in the Ts65Dn murine model of Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease following maternal choline supplementation. Hippocampus, 28(4), 251–268.
Caudill, M. A., Strupp, B. J., Muscalu, L., Nevins, J. E. H., & Canfield, R. L. (2018). Maternal choline supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy improves infant information processing speed: a randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding study. FASEB journal: official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 32(4), 2172.
Powers, B. E., Kelley, C. M., Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Strawderman, M. S., Alldred, M. J., Ginsberg, S. D., Mufson, E. J., & Strupp, B. J. (2017). Maternal choline supplementation in a mouse model of Down syndrome: Effects on attention and nucleus basalis/substantia innominata neuron morphology in adult offspring. Neuroscience, 340, 501–514.
Strupp, B. J., Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Kelley, C. M., Alldred, M. J., Strawderman, M., Caudill, M. A., Mufson, E. J., & Ginsberg, S. D. (2016). Maternal Choline Supplementation: A Potential Prenatal Treatment for Down Syndrome and Alzheimer's Disease. Current Alzheimer research, 13(1), 97–106.
Kelley, C. M., Ash, J. A., Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Alldred, M. J., Ikonomovic, M. D., Ginsberg, S. D., Strupp, B. J., & Mufson, E. J. (2016). Effects of Maternal Choline Supplementation on the Septohippocampal Cholinergic System in the Ts65Dn Mouse Model of Down Syndrome. Current Alzheimer research, 13(1), 84–96.
Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Kelley, C. M., Ash, J. A., Strawderman, M. S., Alldred, M. J., Ginsberg, S. D., Mufson, E. J., & Strupp, B. J. (2016). Attentional function and basal forebrain cholinergic neuron morphology during aging in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome. Brain structure & function, 221(9), 4337–4352.
Ash, J. A., Velazquez, R., Kelley, C. M., Powers, B. E., Ginsberg, S. D., Mufson, E. J., & Strupp, B. J. (2014). Maternal choline supplementation improves spatial mapping and increases basal forebrain cholinergic neuron number and size in aged Ts65Dn mice. Neurobiology of disease, 70, 32–42.
Yan, J., Ginsberg, S. D., Powers, B., Alldred, M. J., Saltzman, A., Strupp, B. J., & Caudill, M. A. (2014). Maternal choline supplementation programs greater activity of the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) pathway in adult Ts65Dn trisomic mice. FASEB journal, 28(10), 4312–4323.
Kelley, C. M., Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Ginsberg, S. D., Strupp, B. J., & Mufson, E. J. (2014). Maternal choline supplementation differentially alters the basal forebrain cholinergic system of young-adult Ts65Dn and disomic mice. The Journal of comparative neurology, 522(6), 1390–1410.
Kelley, C. M., Powers, B. E., Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Ginsberg, S. D., Strupp, B. J., & Mufson, E. J. (2014). Sex differences in the cholinergic basal forebrain in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland), 24(1), 33–44.
Velazquez, R., Ash, J. A., Powers, B. E., Kelley, C. M., Strawderman, M., Luscher, Z. I., Ginsberg, S. D., Mufson, E. J., & Strupp, B. J. (2013). Maternal choline supplementation improves spatial learning and adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome. Neurobiology of disease, 58, 92–101.
Field, M. S., Shields, K. S., Abarinov, E. V., Malysheva, O. V., Allen, R. H., Stabler, S. P., Ash, J. A., Strupp, B. J., Stover, P. J., & Caudill, M. A. (2013). Reduced MTHFD1 activity in male mice perturbs folate- and choline-dependent one-carbon metabolism as well as transsulfuration. The Journal of nutrition, 143(1), 41–45.
Moon, J., Chen, M., Gandhy, S. U., Strawderman, M., Levitsky, D. A., Maclean, K. N., & Strupp, B. J. (2010). Perinatal choline supplementation improves cognitive functioning and emotion regulation in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome. Behavioral neuroscience, 124(3), 346–361.
Prenatal Choline Supplementation Improves Child Color-location Memory Task Performance at 7 Y of Age (FS05-01-19)
Charlotte L. Bahnfleth, Richard L. Canfield, Julie E.H. Nevins, Marie A. Caudill, Barbara J. Strupp Maternal, Perinatal and Pediatric Nutrition, Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 3, Issue Supplement 1, June 2019, nzz048.FS05-01-19, https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzz048.FS05-01-19.
Maternal choline supplementation: A therapy for Down Syndrome with population-wide cognitive benefits (DNTS 16)
Barbara J. Strupp 43rd Annual Meeting of the Developmental Neurotoxicology Society: Held in Conjunction with the 59th Annual Meeting of the Teratology Society and 32nd Annual Education Meeting for the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, San Diego, CA, June 23–26, 2019, Neurotoxicology and Teratology, Volume 73, 2019, Pages 76-94, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2019.04.001. (NOTE: This article can be found on page 80, DNTS 16; or read the excerpt linked in the title above.)
Maternal Choline Supplementation During Pregnancy Improves Executive Functioning in Children at Age 7 y (E10-06)
Julie E.H. Nevins, Kara Beckman, Charlotte L. Bahnfleth, Bailey M. Drewes, Marie A. Caudill, Barbara J. Strupp, and Richard L. Canfield
Neurobiology, Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 2, Issue 11, November 2018, nzy043. (NOTE: This article can be found on page 4 of the PDF which can be accessed from the top of the page under the published date; or read the excerpt linked in the title above.)
Enduring Benefits of Prenatal Choline Supplementation in 7-y-Olds: Enhanced Attention Task Performance (OR11-01) Charlotte L. Bahnfleth, Bailey Drewes, Julie E.H. Nevins, Marie A. Caudill, Richard L. Canfield, and Barbara J. Strupp Neurobiology, Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 2, Issue 11, November 2018, nzy043, https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzy043. (NOTE: This article can be found on page 4 of the PDF which can be accessed from the top of the page under the published date; or read the excerpt linked in the title above.)
Maternal choline supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy improves infant information processing speed: a randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding study (N-O-026)
Richard L. Canfield, Marie A. Caudill, Barbara J. Strupp, Laura Muscalu, Julie E.H. Nevins 51st ESPGHAN Annual Meeting, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Volume 66, Issue Supplement 1, April 2018. (NOTE: This article can be found on page 901 of the document or use Ctrl F to search Strupp or Canfield; or read the excerpt linked in the title above.)
Theses
Charlotte Bahnfleth. (2019). The effect of maternal choline intake on child attention and memory: A seven-year follow-up [Masters]. Cornell University."
Bailey Drewes. (2017). Maternal third-trimester choline supplementation, fetal NR3C1 methylation, and behavior problems at age 7 [Masters]. Cornell University."
Contact us
Choline Cognition Research Group
Savage Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
cholteens [at] cornell.edu
