Bio
Dr. Laura McBreairty is a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Dr. Gordon Zello. She completed a BA in Sociology/Anthropology as well as a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry from Memorial University. She joined the college as a research assistant in November 2013 while completing her PhD and became a postdoctoral fellow in February 2015. Dr. McBreairty has been involved with the UofS Society of Postdoctoral Scholars as the director of finance. She also received a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship from Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation.
Research
During her time at the college, Dr. McBreairty coordinated a multidisciplinary clinical trial in women with the endocrine disorder polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This trial involved a pulse-based diet (beans, chickpeas, lentils) and exercise intervention for 16-weeks to determine the effects on metabolic syndrome risk factors and measures of infertility. She has completed two baseline papers comparing body composition and bone measures in women with PCOS to a healthy control group and is working on manuscripts determining the effect of the intervention on these measures. Laura is also part of a food security project in Ethiopia involving the development of a pulse-based food product to address malnutrition. She has had two opportunities to travel to Ethiopia to assist in researching the local food environment as well as co-teach a MSc clinical nutrition course with Dr. Zello. She is currently preparing manuscripts associated with this project.
Publications
McBreairty LE, Zello GA, Rooke JJ, Serrao S, Pierson RA, Chizen DR, Chilibeck, PD. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome have comparable hip bone geometry to age matched control women. Journal of Clinical Densitometry. [Accepted].
Cornish SM, McBreairty LE, Chilibeck PD, Zello GA. Fat Metabolism during Exercise and Dietary Fats for Athletic Performance. Handbook of Lipids in Human Function. 499-519.
Robinson JL, McBreairty LM, Randell EW, Brunton JA, Bertolo RF. Restriction of dietary methyl donors limits methionine availability and affects the partitioning of dietary methionine for creatine and phosphatidylcholine synthesis in the neonatal piglet. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 2016; 35:81-6.
McBreairty, LE. Methionine metabolism in Yucatan miniature swine (PhD Dissertation Abstract). Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2016; 41(6):691.
McBreairty LE, Bertolo RF. The dynamics of methionine supply and demand during early development. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2016; 41(6):581-7.
McBreairty LE, Robinson JL, Harding SV, Randell EW, Brunton JA, Bertolo RF. Betaine is as effective as folate at re-synthesizing methionine for protein synthesis during moderate methionine deficiency in piglets. European Journal of Nutrition. 2015.
McBreairty LE, Robinson JL, Furlong KR, Brunton JA, Bertolo RF. Guanidinoacetate is more effective than creatine at enhancing tissue creatine stores while consequently limiting methionine availability in Yucatan miniature pigs. PLoS One. 2015; 10(6).
McBreairty LE, McGowan RA, Brunton JA, Bertolo RF. Partitioning of [Methyl-3H] Methionine to Methylated Products and Protein Is Altered during High Methyl Demand Conditions in Young Yucatan Miniature Pigs. Journal of Nutrition. 2013; 143(6):804-9.
Bertolo RF, McBreairty LE. The nutritional burden of methylation reactions. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care 2013; 16(1):102-8.
Mackay DS, Brophy JD, McBreairty LE, McGowan RA, Bertolo RF. Intrauterine growth restriction leads to changes in sulfur amino acid metabolism, but not global DNA methylation, in Yucatan miniature piglets. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 2012; 23(9):1121-7.