The 6th International Workshop on Food and Brain Health, organized by Food Science and Nutrition Department and Ageing & Dementia Research Group (ADRG) at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) was held recently. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Rahma Al-Mahrooqi, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies & Research, SQU, along with Dr. Nasser Al-Habsi, Assistant Dean of the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences (CAMS). There were 13 international speakers from USA, Qatar and India and 12 speakers from Oman who shared their work with the attendees. The participants who attended this event were Health professionals, nutritionists and dietitians from SQUH and the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Fisheries, students from SQU and other colleges from Oman.

The aim of this workshop is to create awareness on the impact of food nutrition on brain health, throughout life. Talks by the speakers covered a wide range of topics from the definition, causes and treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive impairment to research findings on dietary practices and their unique role on health. During the opening ceremony of the workshop, the book titled “A Quick Guide for Clinical Biochemistry” written by Ms. Buthainah Al-Balushi and Dr. M. Mohamed Essa, organizers of the workshop of food and brain health, was officially released by Dr. Rahma Al-Mahrooqi.

Prof. Sulie L. Chang from Seton Hall University, NJ, USA delivered a keynote address on the protective properties of docosahexaenoic acid against neuroimmunological issues. Prof. Walid Qoronfleh from World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) Qatar addressed Personalized Nutrition Intervention and Therapy for Autism Management. Dr.B. Vimala from Annamalai University, India talked about stress and mental health and Dr. S. Mohan Kumar, Deputy Controller of Examinations, Annamalai University discussed about how to create a workplace culture to support mental health. Dr. Anusuyadevi from Bharathidasan University, India talked about Resveratrol and its effects to prevent neurodegeneration and Dr. Jayachandran from the same university talked about the role of bioinformatics in health.

Dr. T. Velusamy from Bharathiar University, India discussed about mitochondrial bioenergetics and Dr. Sadhasivam from the same university talked about neural tissue engineering. Dr. Saravanababu from JSS University, India discussed about cocoa beans on neurodegeneration, and Dr. Suganthy from Alagappa University, India talked about flavonoids on neurodegeneration and Dr. V. Sivakumar from the same university discussed about organic foods. Prof. Luay Rashan from Dhofar University talked about frankincense and its impact on brain health. Dr. Mostafa Waly from Food Science and Nutrition (FSN) Department of CAMS talked about methylation in neurodevelopmental disorders and Dr. Ruqaiah Al-Bulushi from FSN talked about ketogenic diet and epilepsy. Dr. Lyutha Al-Subhi from FSN talked about Uric Acid and Parkinson Disease.

Dr. Blessy Valsaraj from the College of Nursing (CoN), SQU talked about food and dementia; Dr. Vidya Seshan from CoN discussed about brain health from womb and Dr. Juide Arulappan from CoN detailed the relationship between healthy eating and mental health. Dr. Kabaly from Arab Open University (AOU), Oman, discussed about Health care from business prospective and Dr. M. Subrahmanian from AOU discussed about mBraining.

Three posters were presented by 2 PhD students from SQU and Mr. Mohammed Bishir from JSS University, India. Mr. Bisir also received a travel award from the Food and Brain Research Foundation, India which was donated by Dr. Amani Al-Rawahi from Oman. There was a special presentation by a neuropsychology student from Macqurie University, Australia.  Mr. Vijay Viknesh shared his personal experience about how to overcome stammering. A special workshop on “How to Write an Effective Manuscript” was delivered by Dr. Yatendra Joshi from Wolters KluwerHealth (WK), India which was coordinated by Ms. Beejal Mandalia from WK. This event was supported by the CAMS, SQU, Wolters Kluwer health and Food and Brain Research Foundation, India. Dr. Mohamed Essa, Chair of this event appreciated the support provided by the sponsors, Ms. Buthina Al-Balushi, Ms. Insaaf Al-Mahrubi, Ms. Jamila Al-Zadjali and volunteers from FSN student society for the successful completion of this event for 6 years in a row.