As a clinical research scientist in the supplement industry, I know the importance of being part of a team that conducts unbiased product research. 

A company that participates in clinical research is able to validate scientifically the efficacy and safety of supplements. 

As a researcher with more than 10 years of experience conducting clinical research, I can confidently say Thorne makes conducting unbiased clinical research easy. I’ve been part of the clinical research process from both ends of the spectrum, as both a researcher conducting research for external organizations, and an internal stakeholder sponsoring trials for a specific brand.

Unlike other supplement brands, Thorne as a supplement manufacturer brings the same scientific rigor of a pharmaceutical company to the nutritional supplement industry. All this effort makes Thorne a highly sought-after partner for world-class research institutions, like Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins, and MUSC. 

How does Thorne participate in clinical research? And why is that important?

Everything we do starts with science. From product formulation to ingredient sourcing, established clinical research guides our Medical and Research & Development teams as they source exceptional, high-quality ingredients to create unique nutrient formulas. 

Thorne participates in clinical research in a few different ways: by using research to influence how we formulate our products, and  by providing our product goods and proprietary ingredients as resource areas of study in clinical trial settings.

Relying on the safety and efficacy of our nutritional supplement products is the motivating force behind our clinical trials program. Our confidence that each product that we formulate and manufacture has efficacy in the body comes from extensive clinical research and medical literature that substantiate the presence of each ingredient in each formula. 

This confidence comes from the assurance that our teams are doing the work for you, so you can trust you’re getting the best quality product we can offer. This dedication and trust that begins and ends with our consumers is where my story with Thorne begins.

My name is Dr. Laura Kunces, PhD, RD, and I’m the Vice President of Medical Strategy at Thorne, and I’ve been working with Thorne long before I started working for Thorne. 

From student athlete to PhD candidate: How I learned the value of clinically validated supplement formulations

Years ago, I was an undergraduate student athlete studying nutrition at the University of Connecticut and D1 college swimmer. I was constantly searching for foods and supplements to support my athletic performance. As a health-focused student athlete, I knew I couldn’t trust any of the off-the-shelf brands at the local supplement store. 

Knowing my options were limited, I did what I knew best: I turned to health experts. My sports dietitian immediately recommended a brand that could be accessed only through a recommendation from a health-care provider, something that immediately piqued my interest. That brand, of course, was Thorne. 

Once I got this recommendation, I dug deeper into the science, the quality, manufacturing processes, and innovation that Thorne practices, and that sold me on being their new biggest fan and loyal consumer. Through my research, I learned that Thorne was not just a supplement brand – it manufactured its own supplement formulas in its own manufacturing facility in the United States, sourcing the best ingredients from around the world. More than that, Thorne was one of the few companies doing extensive clinical research trials with supplements. 

I was hooked on Thorne’s products from the start, specifically Curcumin Phytosome, fish oil supplements, and the targeted multi-vitamin/mineral formulations. As a nutrition student, I experimented and researched the effects of these products on my own health and correlated this with how I felt, how I recovered day-to-day, how I experienced my energy levels for practice, and how I performed in the pool. 

My own clinical research and experience with nutritional supplements

After my chapter as a student athlete, I continued to pursue my love of nutrition and supplements by enrolling in graduate school at the University of Memphis, where I studied clinical nutrition and became a Registered Dietitian. During my studies, I worked at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where dietary intake is a fundamental variable of research treatment protocols. This work solidified my passion for supplement research.

As my studies continued, I was unequivocally convinced that supplementation and the impacts of these products had a lasting effect on my patients and their livelihoods. What became more pronounced is the importance behind the research of these products – clinically validating the formulas and testing each one in the context of larger populations of people in large-scale research settings. 

Inspired by my clinical experience at St. Jude, I later pursued a second master’s degree and a PhD at the University of Connecticut. During my doctoral studies, I had the invaluable experience of being a part of countless research studies as researcher and subject in a nationally top-ranked kinesiology program. At the university’s Human Performance Lab, the most popular brand names in sports equipment, sports nutrition, and consumer health would hired us to perform third-party testing. We would look at the physiological effects of individual ingredients or finished formulas, establishing new label claims, and discovering new uses with their foods, supplements, and products.

During my time working with Human Performance Lab, I discovered what a gap there was in the nutritional supplement field with established clinical research taking place on third party tested, credible, high-quality products.

It was through this experience that I knew I wanted to be on the other side of the table and work with one of these reputable companies investing in clinical research to support their products. 

I eventually found my way to working with Thorne in 2014. It felt like it was fate combining my two passions into one career while making the products I loved, from a supplement manufacturer I trusted. 

Thorne’s involvement in clinical research

A key part of my work at Thorne is to ensure that the company maintains the level of reliability and quality within the scientific and clinical communities. We do this by working with research institutions and hospitals on clinical research that includes our ingredients and products. 

Thorne’s research strategy showcases our commitment to fund research worldwide. We know it is a necessary to test every step of our process, and that means starting with pre-clinical studies, ingredient-specific research, stability testing, and exploring possibilities of clinical trials with final product formulations in a variety of settings and populations to expand the breadth of our supplement offerings and continue to personalize health solutions.   

Our focus is on our unique formulas, patented ingredients, or technologies, and aim to seek quantitative and qualitative physiological effects, support and expand new label claims, and discover new uses with our products. 

Since 1984, Thorne has remained committed to research trials and scientifically backed ingredients to develop cutting-edge nutrient formulas with the highest quality. When I found Thorne during my college athlete days, I knew there was something special about the company, and through my use initially as a consumer, to my work with Thorne in my formal studies as a research scientist, to my role now, I can wholeheartedly say the importance of clinical research in nutritional supplementation is a space that is highly underrated. Behind the word “quality” in Thorne’s promise is the research that backs its quality, and formulations. Thorne is one of the few supplement manufacturers that does this, and I’m proud to be a part of a team that enforces this standard.  

As I look back at the last decade working with Thorne, I know I made the right choice for my career path as a research scientist in the supplement industry, and beyond that, I made the right choice in choosing a company that is so dedicated to the health and wellness of its customers.