The AI-powered nutrition platform is stepping up to support scientists facing funding shortfalls with unlimited access to research-grade tools
AI-powered nutrition platform Alma is responding to recent cuts affecting the American scientific community—including the suspension of National Institutes of Health (NIH) training programs and broader funding reductions—by offering academic researchers free, unlimited access to its platform.
Alma’s access includes analytics tools for gathering research-grade insights, nutrition data collection and natural language tracking tools across unlimited participant accounts.
“Science isn’t just about discovery—it’s about improving lives through knowledge,” says Rami Alhamad, founder and CEO of Alma. “When we saw researchers losing pathways to conduct vital nutrition studies, we knew we had to act. By offering our platform at no cost to academic researchers, we’re reducing the financial burden while ensuring crucial data collection can continue.”
Researchers from Harvard and the University of Minnesota, who have been experiencing roadblocks due to budget cuts, are two institutions that are already on board and now have access to critical nutrition data helping them to continue their research, Alhamad tells Athletech News.
“We believe science thrives when barriers are removed,” Alhamad says. “We want to ensure that researchers have access to the data they need to help propel their important work forward. Their research will help people develop healthier relationships with food for generations to come.”
Alma’s initiative will remain open as long as needed, though Alhamad says the long-term goal is to help build a more sustainable research climate that’s less vulnerable to funding cuts.
“The nutrition data we collect is robust and comes from a large demographic of users, making it a powerful asset for moving health research in our space forward,” he says.
While the initiative began as a response to the current funding cuts, Alhamad says it has sparked a broader conversation about supporting academic research and advancing healthcare innovation. What’s more, there’s potential for it to expand by bringing other related sectors into the mix.
“The fitness and wellness industry has a unique opportunity to support public health by investing in the accessibility and integrity of scientific research,” Alhamad says. “My message would be to keep looking for opportunities to be a part of the solution because we are all in this together, and when barriers to research are removed, we all benefit.”
Academic institutions and researchers interested in accessing Alma for research purposes can apply here.
On the consumer side, Alma launched its nutrition companion app in the Apple App store earlier this year, packed with features like smart meal tracking using voice, text, images and barcode scanning, personalized, goal-oriented insights, restaurant suggestions and more.
