Department of Nutrition
Current Research
There are three signature areas of research in Nutrition:
1) obesity, energy balance and chronic disease (Drs. Brown, Lovelady, McIntosh,
Morrison);
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download a Dept. of Nutrition Research brochure here)
2) bioactive food component effects on cell function and prevention of disease processes (Drs. Erikson, Jia, Kipp, Loo, McIntosh, Morrison, Taylor); and
3) nutrition risks and needs of underserved/limited resource populations (Drs. Dharod, Haldeman, Savoca, Taylor)
Current studies include:
Nutrition education to lower risk of hypertension in young African American men
Regulation of fat cell differentiation and metabolism
Nutrient-gene regulation of bone metabolism
Chemical and metabolic profiling of bioactive food components
The contributions of diet, sex differences and aging to leptin resistance and obesity
Food insecurity and health outcomes among immigrants and refugee populations
Micronutrients and brain development and functionNutrient needs during lactation and exercise
Nutritional risk and education needs of older adults
Nutrition interventions for low-income, diverse families
Molecular mechanisms mediating hyperplastic obesity and cancer
Cellular/molecular functions of phytochemicals in chronic disease prevention
Research Facilities and Equipment
Department research facilities include modern nutrition science laboratories, The Dickson/Harris Teeter Cellular and Molecular Nutrition Laboratory, and The Cemala Foundation Human Nutrition Research Laboratories. State of the art laboratory equipment including Applied Biosystems 7500 FAST PCR System, Nanodrop and Beckman spectrophotometers, flow cytometer, radioisotope detection units, microtiter plate readers, luminometer, an imaging system, high-speed and ultracentrifuges, standard cell culture and molecular biology equipment, and inverted and direct light microscopes with fluorescent capabilities. The Human Nutrition Research Labs include anthropometric equipment available for field research, exercise testing equipment, a phlebotomy and anthropometric measurement room, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometer (DEXA) bone density unit, and Nutrition Data System for Research software for dietary intake analysis. Computer facilities are conveniently located in multiple campus computer centers. The library collection and support personnel enhance the research environment.
Departmental Research Staff
Paula Cooney
Robin Hopkins, Ph.D.