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Instructor of Research, Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine
Instructor of Research, Digestive Health Research Institute

Dr. Abigail Basson, Ph.D., RD, LD, is a registered dietitian and NIH-funded Instructor in the Department of Nutrition with a secondary appointment with the Division of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. Abigail鈥檚 research goal is to identify mechanisms for targeted dietary manipulation of intestinal microbiota and inflammation that can be used as predictors or therapeutic modifiers of disease severity in patients affected with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). As such, her research integrates basic science and translational clinical research in IBD, combining clinical nutrition and translational methodologies to identify candidate dietary nutrients that will ultimately be translated to biomarkers associated with 鈥榩erson-specific鈥� therapeutic strategies. On the clinical component, Abigail has focused on implementing IRB-approved strategies to validate the findings derived from her mouse work and is currently the PI of a NIH funded, multidisciplinary diet intervention study in patients at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.

View Dr. Basson's Research Website
Teaching Information
Teaching Interests
Nutrigenomics

Research Information
Research Projects
Effect of an Anti-Inflammatory Diet on Gut Homeostasis in Active and Experimental Crohn鈥檚 Disease

Recent Funding
Title: NIH Mentored Research Scientist Development Awards (K01)

Award: 1K01DK127008-01

Funder: NIH/NIDDK

Role: Principal Investigator

Dates: 03/01/2021-12/31/2025

Awards and Honors
Pilot Feasibility Award 2019 Digestive Diseases Core Center (DDRCC), NIH/NIDDK
F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship Research Grant 2018 NIH/NIDDK
AGA Young Investigator Research Travel Award 2018 Digestive Diseases Week
Basic Science Travel Award 2018 Crohn鈥檚 and Colitis Congress
Basic Science Travel Award 2017 Digestive Diseases Week
T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Scholar Research Grant 2016 NIH/NIDDK
Invited Member 2015 Golden Key International Honor Society
Faculty Research Grant 2013 University of the Western Cape
Doctoral Research Award 2011 AstraZeneca/SAGES
Publications
View All Publications

Selected Papers
a. Basson A, Swart R, Jordaan E, Mazinu M, Watermeyer G. (2014) The association between race and Crohn鈥檚 disease phenotype in the Western Cape population of South Africa, defined by the Montreal classification system. PloS ONE; 9(8): e104859. PMCID: PMC4130615.

b. Basson A, Swart R, Jordaan E, Mazinu M, Watermeyer G. (2014) The association between childhood environmental exposures and development of Crohn鈥檚 disease in the Western Cape, South Africa. PloS ONE; 9(12): e115492. PMCID: PMC4267820.

c. Basson A, Swart R, Jordaan E, Mazinu M, Watermeyer G. (2016) Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk for moderate to severe disease activity in Crohn鈥檚 disease patients in South Africa, measured by the Harvey Bradshaw Index. J Am College Nutr; 35(2):163-174. PMID:26430776.

d. Basson A, Rodriguiez-Palacios A, Cominelli F et al. (2019). Human gut microbiome transplantation in ileitis prone mice: a tool for the functional characterization of the microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease patients. Inflamm Bowel Dis. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 31750921.

e. Basson A, Rodriguez-Palacios A., Cominelli F, et al. (2020). Replacing Animal Protein with Soy-Pea Protein in an 鈥楢merican diet鈥� Controls Crohn鈥檚 Disease-like Ileitis Regardless of Firmicutes: Bacteroidetes ratio. J Nutr. 2021. PMID: 33484150.

Education
PhD Public Health & Nutrition University of the Western Cape, South Africa 2015
Certificate Nutrigenomics University of Arizona 2010
MSc Clinical Nutrition Science New York University 2005
BSc Dietetics Rutgers University 2003
Residencies, Internships and Fellowships
Dietetic Internship St Vincent's Catholic Hospital, NYC 2006
Postdoctoral Fellowship Division of Gastroenterology, CWRU 2019

 (he/him) studies the effects of nutritional intervention on health outcomes, identifying mechanisms by which nutrients impact gene expression and host physiology, with primary emphasis on gastrointestinal health and obesity. His lab’s research is contributing to the development of diets to help prevent obesity and other health-related issues in humans and animals.
More information: 
Swanson uses genomic biology to study nutrition-related problems in the areas of obesity and intestinal health. Both comparative and applied nutrition research projects are performed in his laboratory, including those studying human subjects, companion animals, and rodent models. A primary aim of his research group is to study the effects of diet and age on gastrointestinal microbiota abundance and activity. DNA-based techniques [e.g., quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR); next-generation sequencing] are used in the lab. Current projects are designed to evaluate the effects of dietary fibers and prebiotics, dietary lipids, and protein: carbohydrate ratio on gastrointestinal microbial populations. Key associations between intestinal microbiota, host physiology, and disease are also being studied. Another primary area of research pertains to energy homeostasis and obesity. Molecular techniques (e.g., qRT-PCR; Fluidigm; RNAseq) are used to identify mechanisms and/or metabolic pathways affected in key metabolic tissues. Adipose tissue and skeletal muscle play important roles in energy homeostasis and glucose and lipid metabolism and are the focus of several ongoing projects.
Affiliations: 
Dr. Swanson is Professor of Animal Nutrition and Nutrigenomics in the  in the  (ACES) at the . He is also interim director of the  at ACES.