Research in Nutrition
The diversity of in the field of nutrition provides opportunities for a wide variety of research. We conduct impactful, relevant research relating to nutrition and food safety education, stem cell biology, dietary interactions, colon cancer, obesity, diabetes, dietary guidelines, community-based nutrition and physical activity intervention, and more. Our faculty experts receive approximately $2 million in private and federal grants each year to conduct multidisciplinary research.
Areas of Research Expertise
Our faculty represent a community of scholars who are conducting extensive research programs in a variety of program areas, collaborating with colleagues across the world from different disciplines.
Jenna Anding, Ph.D.
Research:
Evaluating the impact of Nutrition and Food Safety Education Programs among limited resource audiences.
Robert Chapkin, Ph.D.
Research:
Research in the Chapkin lab focuses on dietary/microbial modulators related to the prevention of cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. The lab has been continuously funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) for the past 34 years.
Shaodong Guo, Ph.D.
Research:
Mechanisms of insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, and associated cardiac disorders, aiming at nutritional and therapeutic intervention.
Bradley Johnston, Ph.D.
Research:
Application of randomized trial, systematic review, meta-analysis and guideline recommendation methods to a wide range of areas, with a particular interest in evidence-based nutrition practice and policy.
Rebecca Seguin-Fowler, Ph.D.
Research:
Community-based nutrition and physical activity intervention research, AgriLife Research administrative leadership for social and behavioral intervention research initiatives, and Healthy Texas community health research director.
Yuxiang Sun, Ph.D.
Research:
Dr. Sun is a leading expert on “hunger hormone” ghrelin. She generated the first set of mouse models for the ghrelin system, and discovered ghrelin’s novel functions in diabetes, thermogenesis, inflammation and aging. Her laboratory uses state-of-the-art tools to study ghrelin in energy sensing/metabolism, immuno-metabolism, inflamm-aging and neuro-inflammation. Their work has potential to lead to therapies for obesity, diabetes, inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.
Masako Suzuki, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Research:
The long-term research goals of Dr. Suzuki’s laboratory are to identify mechanisms of how the offspring memorize their environmental exposure status in utero throughout life, which links to increasing disease risks later in life, and to reveal how the genetic variations contribute to the exposure phenotypes.
David Threadgill, Ph.D.
Research:
Dr. Threadgill’s laboratory uses the mouse as an experimental genetic model to investigate factors that contribute to inter-individual differences in health and disease. Current research activities include the role of genetic variation in response to environmental stimuli, with diet being the major environmental factor under study.
Heidi Vanden Brink, Ph.D.
Research:
Dr. Vanden Brink’s research focuses on the intersection between human nutrition, metabolism, and reproductive physiology, with an emphasis on the adolescent reproductive transition, mechanisms leading to PCOS in the early post-menarcheal years, and PCOS prevention.
Chaodong Wu, Ph.D.
Research:
Elucidate the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of obesity and overnutrition-associated metabolic diseases including insulin resistance, diabetes, and fatty liver disease.
Linglin Xie, Ph.D.
Research:
Research has been focused on understanding the molecular basis of obesity and insulin resistance. Her recent study focus is to find out if and how different maternal diet intervention before pregnancy would prevent the downstream offspring. She is also interested in understanding how maternal obesity or diabetes increase the risk of congenital heart defects of the baby.