Jennifer Buell: Food is Medicine
Jennifer Buell, President and Chief Executive Officer at MiNK Therapeutics, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Absolutely agree, OncoDaily. Food is Medicine and must be part of the treatment plan, not a postscript.
The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University NutriCare trial explores how proactive nutrition—including medically tailored meals—can improve outcomes and higher quality diets have been linked to better responses to ICIs, likely via the microbiome’s modulation of immune tone and inflammation.
This interplay between nutrition, metabolism, and immunity is deeply relevant to iNKT cells—innate T cells that serve as nature’s regulators of inflammatory and metabolic pathways. Unlike GLP‑1 inhibitors, iNKTs natively integrate metabolic sensing and immune control. They’re modulated by fatty acids, fiber-derived metabolites, and flavonoids—making diet a direct lever on immunometabolism.
Dr. Lydia Lynch’s seminal work established that iNKTs are abundant in human adipose tissue and are lost in obesity (and cancer), but restored through weight loss; they protect against metabolic syndrome by producing regulatory cytokines and modulating lipid oxidation and thermogenesis pathways. Her later studies highlight distinct iNKT populations in adipose tissue that regulate homeostasis via ER stress pathways and fatty‑acid sensing—demonstrating how nutrient profiles directly shape immune-metabolic outcomes.
MiNK Therapeutics is advancing iNKT-based therapies in inflammatory diseases. Our publications in Nature Oncogene highlight clinical responses—including a landmark complete remission in testicular cancer and reversal of severe inflammation in the lung—with iNKTs as a central driver:
Building on this, we recently announced receipt of a prestigious Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs grant to advance iNKT therapy in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)—a setting where the dual regulation of inflammation and metabolism is critical.
Nutrition and cell therapy may seem worlds apart, yet they are deeply integrated. Both are tools to restore balance where inflammation and metabolism collide.”
More posts featuring Jennifer Buell.
Read Further: Sami Mansfield: How Is Your Team Supporting Patients in Improving Diet Quality During Treatment?
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