“Mitochondria exist in our cells, helping to turn the food we eat into energy that the cell can use. Mitochondria that aren’t functioning correctly are believed to be a key factor in a range of chronic diseases, including psychiatric (bipolar disorder), neurological (multiple sclerosis), and metabolic disorders (obesity-linked non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) that require billions of dollars in annual healthcare costs,” says Dr. Mohan Babu, associate professor of biochemistry. “Current therapies relieve some disease symptoms, but their underlying attributes remain unclear,” said Babu. “Pregnant women exposed to environmental pollutants, can also have altered mitochondrial function causing poor birth outcomes and/or chronic issues.