European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases - ELFID
The European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food Induced Diseases (ELFID) was established in 2001 by the University Federico II in Naples.
The main focus of ELFID is on the relationship between nutrition and health.
Its activities are carried out in the Pediatric Section of the Department of Medical Translational Sciences of the University Federico II and in the laboratories of the University of Salerno, but also at the National Research Council (CNR) facilities in Napoli (Institute of Biochemistry and Cellular Biology) and Avellino (Institute of Food Science), linked to ELFID by scientific agreements.
The goals of ELFID remain today those that led to its creation, in particular it aims to facilitate scientific collaboration between European researchers in the field of food-induced diseases, to stimulate and realize technical and scientific collaboration with non-European Countries in particular in the Mediterranean Area, to promote the training of young researchers, to establish cooperation with food and pharmaceutical industry.
Most of the research remains focused on coeliac disease as a model of food induced disease, suitable to study interaction between food and intestinal epithelium with special emphasis on mechanisms that may underly systemic diseases.
Many efforts are devoted to the study of food-induced intestinal inflammation, not only in the context of coeliac disease, but also in food allergy, Inflammatory bowel diseases, “functional gastrointestinal disorders, obesity.
The research carried out at ELFID has in fact a strong translational value; the link with a clinical department represents to this regard an opportunity, the prevailing pediatric component helping to sustain studies on natural history of diseases and prevention.
Other aspects of the activity of ELFID need to be remembered. Collaborations have been created with pharmaceutical and food industry; examples are collaborations established with Heinz, Dicofarm, Barilla.
Some of the activities have improved the diagnostic facilities improving the care offered by the Federico II Hospital. Finally, attention has been given to training, both in the laboratory and in the ward, with ELFID promoting a yearly course on pediatric gastroenterology attended by clinicians from all over the Country.
Prof. Riccardo Troncone
ELFID, the European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food Induced Diseases (ELFID) was established in 2001 by the University Federico II in Naples.