Britt Burton-Freeman, Ph.D.

Britt Burton-Freeman, Ph.D. is the Director of Nutrition and Health Promoting Foods platform leader at the National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST), Illinois Institute of Technology. Dr. Freeman has been involved in obesity and metabolic disease research for over 15 years, including basic science and clinical research in academic, biotechnology and drug development settings. Dr. Freeman’s current research interests are in mitigating disease process through dietary approaches focused on the health promoting properties of whole foods. Specific disease targets are vascular disease and obesity, including food intake regulation. In her current appointment, she leads a public health initiative with FDA/CFSAN to develop and provide underpinning science for comprehensive approaches using innovative processing solutions to support the availability of safe food with health opportunities. Dr. Freeman is an active member of multiple professional societies dedicated to health and disease abatement including the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Society and the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior. Dr. Freeman earned a M.S. and Ph.D. in Nutrition Science with an emphasis in Endocrinology and Physiological Chemistry at the University of California, Davis.

Education

  • Ph.D., Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
  • M.S., Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
  • B.S., Dietetics; Minor, Chemistry, California State University, Chico, Chico, California
    Research Interests

Dr. Burton-Freeman’s research follows two main themes: 1) Appetite and obesity management and, 2) Vascular disease. Research emphasizes the effects of bioactive food components on mechanistic and behavioral processes of food intake and body weight regulation. Properties of fibers, micro- and macro- molecule interactions, and food matrix effects in the gut to alter metabolic and endocrine systems are a primary focus. Effects of dietary constituents on vascular disease include evaluation of endothelium function, platelet activation, and inflammatory and oxidative stress responses during acute and chronic interventions. The research approach includes human and basic science methodology.

Publications

  • Burton-Freeman, B and Schneeman, B.O. Trypsin Inhibitor: A non-caloric satiety signal. UC – Office of Technology Transfer – US Use Patent, 1995.
  • Burton-Freeman, B Fat and Satiety. Proceedings, Milkfat Nutrition Roundtable. pp. 25-27, 1996.
  • Burton-Freeman, B and Schneeman B.O. Lipid infused into the duodenum of rats at varied rates influences food intake and body weight gain. J. Nutr. 1996;126: 2934-2939.
  • Burton-Freeman, B., Gietzen, D.W. and Schneeman, B. Meal pattern analysis to investigate the satiating potential of fat, carbohydrate and protein in rats. Am. J. Physiol. 1997;273: R1916-1922.
  • Burton-Freeman, B., Gietzen, D.W. and Schneeman, B. Cholecystokinin (CCK) and serotonin (5-HT3) receptors in the regulation of fat-induced satiety in rats. Am. J. Physiol. 1999:276: R429-R434.
  • Burton-Freeman, B. Dietary Fiber and Energy Regulation. J. Nutrition. 2000;130: 272s-275s.
  • Burton-Freeman, B., Davis, P. and Schneeman, B. Plasma Cholecystokinin is associated with subjective measures of satiety in women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2002;76 (3): 659-667.
  • Schneeman, B., Burton-Freeman, B., Davis, P. Incorporating dairy foods into low and high fat diets increases postprandial cholecystokinin response in men and women J. Nutr. 2003; 133:4124-4128.
  • Burton-Freeman, B. Davis, P. and Schneeman, B. Interaction of fat availability and sex on postprandial satiety and cholecystokinin after mixed-food meals. Am J Clin Nutr. Nov; 2004;80:1207-14.