Nutritional Sciences PhD student Nikki Renall has recently returned from Germany, where she spent six weeks at the Max
Rubner-Institut (MRI) in Karlsruhe, approximately 150 kilometres south of Frankfurt.
The collaboration came about via Massey chair in Human Nutrition, Professor Bernhard Breier’s relationship with the
world-renowned research facility, which focuses on consumer health protection in the nutrition sector. Ms Renall
received a PhD fellowship and travel support from the Riddet Institute Centre of Research Excellence.
Ms Renall, who is also a New Zealand registered dietitian, is focusing on the relationship between the diet and gut
microbiome. She was recommended by Professor Breier so she could learn how to analyse habitual dietary intake from the PROMISE (PRedictors linking Obesity and gut MIcrobiomE) study. The study, funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, aims to understand how diet, physical activity, sleep
and taste affect the gut bacteria of New Zealand's European and Pacific women and how this may be linked to long-term
health and a healthy body weight.
“We don’t know enough about the relationship between the gut microbiome, diet and health outcomes but we are trying to
shed some light on it from a New Zealand perspective,” Ms Renall says. “We know in New Zealand, one in three adults are
obese, and that number is rising. I am trying to see if there are any dietary behaviours or habits which we can link to
the gut microbiome.”
Ms Renall says the experience at MRI taught her a novel way to analyse habitual dietary data, which is to her knowledge
not currently done in New Zealand. “To learn that and bring it back here to work on in a New Zealand setting and
population is really exciting, as this method is being used around the world.
“Without going to Germany, we wouldn't have been able to generate such rich data from the PROMISE study, which I am
currently in the process of exploring, to see if there are any health behaviour associations with the way people are
eating, what they are eating and the microbiome,” she says.
The 30-year-old, whose iwi is Taranaki, grew up in Waiuku in South Auckland. She wants to make the healthy choice, the
easy choice. “I would love to be working for somewhere like the Ministry of Health, guiding public policy. I think
healthy eating should be easy for everyone. Knowledge is power, and if people understand more about the impact of their
dietary choice, and society supports them to make healthier choices, it could hopefully help prevent poor metabolic
health outcomes.”
Given that New Zealand sits third in the OECD for obesity, Ms Renall wants more focus on prevention. “Nutrition and
lifestyle is a massive part of that. When you eat well, you feel good and a varied diet has been linked to a diverse
microbiome which has been associated with better health outcomes, but we have yet to figure out exactly how the diet is
related to the gut microbiome. I would just like to help make a difference for people - make health more equal for
everyone.”
Ms Renall, who now lives in Birkdale on Auckland’s North Shore, relished her time in Germany, before taking a three-week
holiday around The Netherlands, Austria, Prague and Germany, including Munich and Berlin, with her fiancé.
“Every day we would just reflect, ‘Wow, we’re in a different country’, it was the smallest things that were the most
enjoyable - driving our campervan on the other side of the road, visiting little towns, shops, cafés, not speaking any
of the language, but people were so friendly and welcoming. And the food, especially the healthier options were a lot
cheaper than New Zealand. I loved perusing the supermarkets, and the cheese, so cheap and so good!”
She says the trip taught her a lot about herself and the way we do things in New Zealand.
“I found the whole experience amazing. I love the way they prioritise recycling even in public places, and how everyone
bikes to work. It was like something out of a movie - you see ladies in dresses and men in suits biking along - the
incidental activity they engage in, and the lifestyle. I just really really liked that.
“I feel like I’ve made friendships for life with some of the colleagues I worked with over there, and I continue to work
with. The relationships and the collaboration will be a platform for me in the future, because they are wonderful and so
supportive and we are all in it for the right reasons. Spending time at the MRI actually reinvigorated my love for
science. It was just wonderful to talk to people across the world that are leading experts in their field and we share
common ideals about creating good science and I guess I'm a bit of a geek like that.”
Ms Renall was supervised by Dr Benedikt Merz while at the MRI. Her supervisor at Massey University is Professor Breier,
from the School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition.