Elizabeth H. Jeffery

Dr. Jeffery's research focus has been on the mechanism of regulation of detoxification enzymes by dietary components including ethanol and other alcohols, soy, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli. She works with a multidisciplinary team of scientists interested in developing a "better broccoli"---one that will significantly decrease risk for cancer through both enhanced detoxification enzyme synthesis and suppression of tumor growth, without greatly changing people's dietary habits. Her approach is to define mechanism using molecular biology, then to correlate this with whole animal and clinical studies.

Selected Publications
Beemreddy R.M. and Jeffery E.H. Glucosinolates in Nutritional Oncology, 2^nd Ed. 2006. Eds. Heber D. Blackburn G.L., Go VLW and Milner J. pp 583-596.

Matusheski N.V., Swarup R., Juvik J.A., Mithen R., Bennet M., and Jeffery E.H., Epithiospecifier Protein from Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. ssp. Italic) Inhibits Formation of the Anticancer Agent Sulforaphane. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2006; 54:2069-76.

Eberhardt M.V. and Jeffery E.H. When dietary antioxidants perturb the thiol redox. J. Sci. Food Agric. 2006: 86: 1996-1998.

Courses recently taught:

FSHN 480 - Basic Toxicology

FSHN 596 - Seminar in Nutrition 

FSHN 510 - Bioactive Food components

A toxicologist by training, Dr. Jeffery is active in the Society of Toxicology where she has held elected positions on the Education and Nominating Committees. She is past President of the Midwest Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology and past Chair of the Toxicology specialty section in the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. She is past Chair of the Dietary Bioactive Components Research Interest Section of the American Society of Nutrition and she is a committee member of the National Academy of Science Food and Nutrition Board's Committee on use of Dietary Supplements by military personnel. She has served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology and as guest Field Editor for the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and reviews research grant proposals for both the NIH and the USDA. Dr. Jeffery receives funding from industry and local and federal government sources, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health. She is also faculty on an NIH training grant in toxicology, and past Director for a USDA National Needs training grant in functional foods. Her major teaching commitment is to a course for seniors and beginning graduate students on basic toxicology and some pharmacology for medical students. She will teach a graduate course on functional foods, beginning fall ’07. Dr. Jeffery has been with the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition since 1997, although she has been on campus since 1983. Other appointments on campus are: The Environmental Council (formerly Environmental Studies), Veterinary Biosciences (College of Veterinary Medicine), Pharmacology (College of Medicine), the Environmental Toxicology Program and the Division of Nutritional Sciences. Dr. Jeffery has M.S. and Ph.D. students who major in Nutritional Sciences, Food Science and Human Nutrition, and Toxicology. With the growing need for research into the safety and efficacy of functional foods and dietary supplements, Dr. Jeffery's research meets needs that are timely, and that train students appropriately for careers in academia, government, or the food and pharmaceutical industries. The general public deserves to know how they can modify their diet to improve their health.