Vini Fernandes Cruzat

Dr Vinicius Cruzat is a Lecturer in Human Anatomy and Physiology within the Faculty of Health at Southern Cross University. Dr Cruzat is also a registered Nutritionist in Australia and the Chair of the Queensland group of the Nutrition Society of Australia (NSA). His research expertise comprises nutrition and exercise physiology, nutrient supplementation in health and disease, metabolic biochemistry, and sports nutrition.

Following the completion of his PhD, Dr Cruzat spent more than 5 years working as a Post-Doctoral Researcher and Adjunct Research Fellow at Curtin University (WA) studying the effects of amino acid supplementation on insulin secretion and action. Dr Cruzat also developed skills in advanced molecular biology working as a visiting Post-Doctoral Researcher in Belgium at the Centre for Diabetes Research, Université Libre de Bruxelles. To date, much of his research has focused on the metabolic and antioxidant effects of nutrient supplementation in exercise and chronic inflammatory disease situations, such as obesity and diabetes. More recently, Dr Cruzat has expanded his research by studying the effects of Vitamin D supplementation and bioactive compounds in spent coffee grounds. Dr Cruzat is also a current Adjunct Senior Researcher at Griffith University on the Gold Coast.

Research Interests

1. Metabolic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of nutrient supplementation and diet modulation, including amino acids (e.g. glutamine, leucine, arginine), vitamin D and bioactive compounds obtained from coffee.
2. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of diabetes associated with obesity and how nutrients and/or exercise can attenuate disease progression.
3. Regulatory mechanisms induced by Heat Shock Proteins on cell metabolism and stress signalling pathways using both in vivo and in vitro approaches.

Supervision

Dr Cruzat has successfully supervised to completion of 3 PhD, 6 MSc and 5 Honours students in several higher education institutions in Australia and overseas.

Teaching

Dr Cruzat's teaching expertise is focused on human Anatomy and Physiology and metabolic biochemistry.