Yvonne Lamers

University of Florida, Postdoctoral Associate, Human Nutrition

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, PhD, Human Nutrition

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Diploma, Human Nutrition

My enthusiasm for research draws from my interest in the biochemistry and physiology of nutrition-related diseases and in targeted and population-based strategies of chronic disease prevention and optimal health promotion. My research focuses on micronutrients and specifically B-vitamins and their kinetics and functions in human metabolism. B-vitamins are required for normal cell growth and neurological function and thus have an impact on human health from the embryo to the older adult. Low folate and/or vitamin B-12 status may yield pregnancy complications, low birth weight, cancer, and cognitive impairment.

The overarching theme of my research is micronutrient adequacy. My current research projects focus on maternal-fetal nutrient dependency, periconceptional vitamin adequacy, and the role of maternal and infant nutrition on growth and development. In the UBC Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory that I established, my team has set up a wide array of externally validated analytical methods. One of our goals is to identify sensitive nutritional biomarkers for early diagnosis of micronutrient inadequacies. With the use of stable isotope tracer protocols, we are able to investigate metabolic and functional consequences of nutritional inadequacies and micronutrient interactions in various population groups. The studies will help elaborate potential underlying mechanisms responsible for linkages between B-vitamin intake and chronic disease risk and in the evaluation of optimal vitamin intake to maintain biochemical functions.

I am interested in supervising graduate students with strong interests in nutritional biochemistry, clinical nutrition, pregnancy and toddler studies, and biomarker analysis. Ideal candidates have strong communication skills for interaction with study participants and have experience or high interest in potential projects with a wet lab component. To read more about our current projects, team members, or highlights, please see: www.vitamins.landfood.ubc.ca

FNH 350: Fundamentals of Nutrition (2011/2012 – 2016/2017)

FNH 351: Vitamins, Minerals, and Health (2017/2018)

HUNU 531/631: Graduate Seminar in Human Nutrition (2017/2018)

Journal Articles

Schroder TH, Sinclair G, Mattman A, Jung B, Barr SI, Vallance HD, Lamers Y. Pregnant women of South Asian ethnicity in Canada have substantially lower vitamin B12 status compared with pregnant women of European ethnicity . British Journal of Nutrition 2017; 118 (6): 454-462. doi: 10.1017/S0007114517002331

Quay TAQ, Frimer L, Janssen P, Lamers Y. Barriers and Facilitators to Recruitment of South Asians to Health Research: A Scoping Review. BMJ Open accepted on March 31, 2017.

Jeruszka-Bielak M, Isman C, Schroder TH, Li W, Green TJ, Lamers Y. South Asian ethnicity is related to the highest risk of vitamin B12 deficiency in Canadian pregnant women. Nutrients – accepted for publication on March 19, 2017.

Chebaya P, Karakochuk CD, March KM, Chen NN, Stamm RA, Koreun H, Sophonneary P, Borath M, Shahab-Ferdows S, Hampel D, Barr SI, Lamers Y, Hougthon LA, Allen LH, Green TJ, Whitfield K. Correlations between maternal, breast milk, and infant vitamin B12 concentrations among mother-infant dyads in Vancouver, Canada and Prey Veng, Cambodia: an exploratory analysis. Nutrients – accepted for publication on March 08, 2017

Mujica-Coopman MF, Franco-Sena AB, Farias DR, Vaz J, Brito A, Kac G, Lamers Y (2017). Vitamin B6 status in unsupplemented pregnant women is associated positively with serum docosahexaenoic acid and inversely with the n-6-to-n-3 fatty acid ratio. Journal of Nutrition 147(2):170-178. doi: 10.3945/jn.116.239483.

Ho CL, Quay TAW, Devlin AM, Lamers Y (2016). Prevalence and predictors of low vitamin B6 status in healthy young women in Metro Vancouver. Nutrients 8(9). pii: E538. doi: 10.3390/nu8090538.

Book Chapters

Gregory JF, da Silva V, Lamers Y. Kinetics of folate and one-carbon metabolism. In: Folate in Health and Disease (2010). Editor: Bailey LB; 2nd edition. Taylor and Francis Group, Florida

Professional Affiliations

• BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver BC, Investigator
• Women’s Health Research Institute, Vancouver BC, Researcher
• Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver BC, Affiliated Investigator
• Fraser Health Authority, Surrey BC, Affiliated Investigator