Overview
Dr. Christopher Jolly received his PhD in Nutrition from Texas A&M College Station, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology. He went on to complete a second postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in the Department of Medicine, division of Clinical Immunology, where he began to work with different animal models of cancer, aging, and autoimmune diseases using dietary approaches as a form of treatment. He is currently serving as an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at UT-Austin and has a courtesy appointment in the Pediatrics Department of the Dell Medical School.
FUN FACT: Dr. Jolly started doing research completely by accident through an undergraduate research course in college. This upcoming summer will mark his 30th anniversary of being in the field of research!
Dr. Jolly works with mouse models to understand how dietary manipulations are working in the body while also determining which type of diet is more effective in modifying the immune system. He says that, "while results don't always translate exactly from mice to humans, the mice give a general idea on how more complex organism vertebrates can handle a variety of dietary strategies."
Past and Current Research
Dr. Jolly and his team were among the first people to show the health benefits of resveratrol. Through the supplementation of resveratrol, mice that were fed a high fat diet actually found improvements in reducing fat weight gain and increasing new T cell production. As stated by Dr. Jolly, "what this research had shown was that even if you consume a diet that causes obesity, you could potentially consume things that would blunt some of the negative health effects of an unhealthy diet." In relation to Dr. Jolly's current research, one of the major findings that has been established so far, is the fact that metabolism has emerged as a big driver of the immune response. As he explains, by manipulating the levels in diets, an immune response to a virus can improve and potentially improve vaccine efficacy too.
Future Research
More recently, Dr. Jolly has been collaborating with clinical investigators to translate his animal work into humans, which is an exciting transition for his research. Dr. Jolly is collaborating with Dr. Ruy Carrasco, a pediatric rheumatologist in the Austin area to look at two different domains. They are examining dietary therapies, such as the ketogenic diet and ketone body supplementation, to treat juvenile idiopathic arthritis. His team is working on developing different ways of administering the diet so it is 1) beneficial and 2) can be followed for a long period of time.
One thing to note is ketone bodies can produce an anti-inflammatory effect in the body, although very little evidence exists to identify how they influence the immune system. Dr. Jolly and his team will be working to identify some of the ways ketone bodies can regulate the immune system to maximize their anti-inflammatory properties in treating chronic anti-inflammatory diseases, such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and enhance the immune system's protective response to infection.
Dr. Jolly is also teaming up with Dr. Megan Gray in the Dell Medical School to examine antigen-specific immune responses in toddlers (1-2 years of age) to COVID-19. Their research will analyze how long the COVID antigen specific response lasts, and they hope to discover some of the ways vaccine efficacy can be improved. In order to better understand vaccine hesitancy, specifically in the Latinx population, their research will include questions for mothers about their willingness to have their children immunized. Drs. Jolly and Gray will also examine strategies in which the mothers can confer immune protection to their children.
MSNS Highlights
Dr. Jolly is also a part of the faculty for the MSNS program. He teaches the course 'Nutrition and Immunology' (NTR 392.4). In this class, students have the opportunity to learn how to improve health by making recommendations through immune modulation using different dietary components. Additionally, students will understand how to conduct clinical immune assessments and analyze current research findings. Some of the topics to be covered throughout the course include inflammation, immune surveillance, allergy and autoimmunity.
Advice to Those Considering the MSNS Program
Dr. Jolly states that there are many different opportunities in nutrition. He says, "Understanding why things happen and strengthening one's knowledge of mechanisms and science are important components of our program. The program really guides and gives students the tools necessary to help individuals. Many students go on to advance their careers by going back to school, such as medical school, dental school, obtaining a PhD, etc."
Experiences of Online Learning in the MSNS Program
Dr. Jolly explains how the courses offered in the program are not memorization-based. There are a lot of discussions that help enable students to engage in active learning by asking questions and interacting with other students. Individuals are able to think critically, interpret data, and receive cutting edge research. The program offers a lot of flexibility for students, which is also a really special feature.
Key Takeaway
Dr. Jolly's key takeaway: "Diet can be a very powerful tool to regulate the immune system and can be beneficial as an anti-inflammatory strategy to reduce chronic inflammation or inflammation caused by pathogens like COVID. It can also serve as a strategy to enhance immune function to where you actually decrease susceptibility to viruses, bacteria, etc."
