Staff Writer- August Von Seth
On Monday, Oct. 6th, Gustavus welcomes this year’s Nobel Conference speakers to campus. The annual scientific forum features lectures and panel discussions taking place in Christ Chapel. The theme for 2025 is sugar and the different ways scientists understand it. One of the speakers is Dr. Nicole Avena, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Visiting Professor of Health Psychology at Princeton University, New Jersey. She is scheduled to deliver her lecture, Sugar Less: Conquer Your Addiction, on Oct. 7 at 10:15 a.m.
According to Dr. Avena, research on “excessive sugar” is only in its infancy.
“I think there’s a lot that we still need to explore and I think in the coming years we’ll start to see more and more research looking at the role of not only added sugar but also just nutrition and diet in general and how it affects our health in ways that we haven’t really thought about in the past,” Dr. Avena said.
With 25 years of experience in the field, the speaker claims that sugar, added sugar, and artificial sweeteners alike can elicit the same “addiction-like response” in the human body, noting their shared sweet taste as the primary factor. However, not all addictive substances are created equal.
“Allulose is usually derived from corn, but it’s considered a rare sugar. It has zero calories or a very small amount of calories. It also is safe for people who have type 1 diabetes because it doesn’t promote an increase in blood sugar levels,” Dr. Avena said.
In the United States, it has been used in a variety of products since the 1990s, listed as a carbohydrate rather than conventional sugar on Nutrition and Supplement Facts labels in accordance with F.D.A. regulations. However, the chemical is not allowed in Canada or in the European Union due to a lack of evidence proving its safety.
There’s a growing body of research illustrating the harmful effects of sugar in food, both on the body and the mind.
“We have 25 years worth of data that supports this idea that it meets the criteria for being an addictive substance, especially when it’s consumed in excess like in the United States. And so I think that now the question is: is there an ethical consideration that has to come into play when we’re talking about a substance that is addictive being inserted into foods that are marketed towards children and being highly promoted and advertised?” Dr. Avena said.
Dr. Avena proposes a range of measures to combat sugar addiction, including warning labels on products and changing our consumer demand. She also stresses the need for parents not to socialize their children into certain eating habits by, for example, feeding them sweet cereals.
As a scientist in the field, she has taken steps to have sugar addiction be recognized as a mental health condition on a national and international level, arguing that it meets the standard definition for a behavioral dependency because of its capacity to cause withdrawal symptoms.
“We’ve also petitioned the WHO to have ultra-processed food addiction be included as a condition in the ICD. So that would mean that, you know, on a more global level, it’s recognized as a condition, not just here in the U.S.,” Dr. Avena said.
In doing so, the speaker hopes that those affected can receive expanded treatment options, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, nutritional counseling, and medications.
In preparation for their arrival, college faculty offered Gustavus students the opportunity to work as a “liaison” for the respective guest speakers last year. Those who filed an application and were accepted had an eight-week course laying out the foundation for the liaison role and delving into each speaker’s chosen lecture topic.
“I understand that the Nobel Conference has high meaning for the campus and provides students with a lot of opportunities. My roommate was also a liaison last year and really enjoyed it and was able to build a good relationship with her speaker,” Nobel liaison, Senior Lauren Rocheford, said.
Rocheford is an exercise physiology major and hopes to form a bond with the speaker she has chosen, Dr. Frank Hu. She, along with another student liaison and a faculty liaison, will pick up the professor from the airport, join him for various meals, and escort him to the stage in Christ Chapel. In 2024, she enrolled in a research program thanks to her attending one of that year’s Nobel lectures, and she hopes a similar opportunity arises this year too.
“Last year, I got a great summer research opportunity at an Ivy League school—from the Nobel Conference. From connecting with the speaker. So I think it’s a very valuable opportunity if students find a speaker that is in an area of interest to them,” Rocheford said.
Another student who will be accompanying the Nobel speakers is Jaxon Jones, a Junior who takes on the role of “super liaison.”
“I’m not tied to one specific speaker. I more facilitate the discussions when the speakers do their talks on stage and it’s time for the audience to ask questions,” Jones said.
Aside from the main lectures, there will also be breakout and discussion sessions where members of the audience may ask questions. Jones is tasked with organizing them and sending them to faculty liaisons on stage.
“When I’m not at the conference facilitating the discussions—say there’s a dinner being hosted, then I can float between the different speakers. Since I’m not tied to one, I can really network with all of them, which is a great opportunity for me,” Jones said.
He notes that while none of the speakers necessarily have the power to provide him with career opportunities as a computer science major, he still finds establishing connections valuable.
For those who would like to ask questions to any of next week’s speakers, the email address is nobelconference@gustavus.edu.