Dr. Jacqueline Pettersen has received the Fritz Wörwag Research Prize.
The cognitive/behavioural neurologist with the Northern Medical Program earned the honour for her medical research on Vitamin D and cognition. She is one of two recipients from May 9th, 2018; it is only the ninth time in the award’s 30 year history it has been handed out. The award includes a prize of 8,000 Euros.
“To know that my work is being noticed, and to receive such recognition, provides an incredible sense of validation that my research is important and impactful, not just at a local level, but on the world stage,” said Dr. Pettersen in a statement.
“It was a wonderful experience to be able to meet other researchers from around the world whose interests overlap with mine and I am excited about the potential opportunities that may arise for international collaboration on future research. I am passionate about the importance of healthy living for disease prevention. I look forward to continuing my work in the area of vitamin D and cognition in particular, but also more broadly, in nutrition and cognition.”
Dr. Pettersen earned the award for her research study Does high dose vitamin D supplementation enhance cognition? which was published in 2017 in Experimental Gerontology. The study demonstrated an improvement in visual memory in people who were provided 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day over 18 weeks.
According to Dr. Pettersen, over one billion people in the world face vitamin D insufficiency. Northern BC is no exception, as long winters can keep residents from getting the nourishment they need.
“What I wanted to know is whether supplementing individuals with vitamin D could actually improve their cognition, their aspects of attention as well as different types of memory,” explains Dr. Pettersen, saying she split study participants into two groups, one with a high supplement (4,000 UI) and one with a low supplement (400 UI) of the vitamin.
“The high dose group improved significantly on tasks of non-verbal memory which would be memory for visual patterns and where those visual patterns were located.”
The Fritz Wörwag Research Prize aims to support and promote researchers in the field of clinical applications of biofactors. The 2018 awards were given for work making a significant contribution to, and containing new experimental or likewise clinical findings on, biofactors (micronutrients) for neuroprotection.