WashU Receives Gates Foundation Award for Nutrition Study 12/23/2016 Faculty; Research Share this Story: Dr. Lora Iannotti, associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has received an award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a nutrition study in Ecuador. The project was an intervention trial testing the efficacy of early introduction of eggs during the complementary feeding period from 6-9 months on growth and biomarkers of nutritional status. The trial was conducted in a rural, Andean community of Ecuador. The study was named the Lulun Project, as “lulun” is the word for “egg” in the Kichwa language. The grant will support ongoing analysis of the stored blood samples and an opportunity to explore different metabolic growth pathways involving amino acids, choline and related metabolites, and immune markers. This phase of the Lulun Project will begin December 2016 and go through the end of 2017.