Nutritional Sciences Research in Metabolism

The Castro Lab, directed by Rita Castro, seeks to advance scientific knowledge in vascular health and disease through unraveling the intricate mechanisms underlying vascular homeostasis and dysfunction.

The Center for Childhood Obesity Research, directed by Jennifer Savage Williams, is a cross-disciplinary, college research center investigating the factors contributing to childhood obesity to inform successful prevention programs to be disseminated to public health and clinical practice audiences.

The Diet and Cardiometabolic Health Lab, directed by Kristina S. Petersen, studies the effects of nutrients, foods, bioactive components, and dietary patterns on risk factors for cardiometabolic disease, to inform evidence-based guidelines for general health as well as the prevention and management of cardiometabolic diseases.

The Ji Lab, led by Xiangming Ji, studies stable isotope-resolved metabolomics for early disease detection, the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis-related diabetes, and the effects of e-cigarettes on the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The Micronutrients and Pregnancy Lab, led by Alison Gernand, studies malnutrition during preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum (lactation and infancy) with a focus on micronutrient deficiencies and adverse pregnancy outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.

The Nutrition and Microbiome – Singh Lab, led by Vishal Singh,  aims to identify the molecular link by which microbial fermentation-derived metabolites regulate the development of chronic inflammatory disorders.

The Nutritional Neuropharmacology Lab, led by Joshua Gross, studies how G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling regulates food reward in the context of obesity, eating disorders, and metabolic disease.