Faculty Spotlight - Kathleen Keller

Can you describe your career path?

I was originally hoping to go to medical school, but after finishing college at Marquette University, I took a year off to manage a bakery in Milwaukee. I was always interested in food, cooking, and nutrition, so I applied to Rutgers University's Department of Nutritional Sciences.

My dissertation, which I completed with a faculty member in food science, examined genetic influences on children’s food preferences. After graduating, I completed my post-doc and early research days at Columbia University in New York City. I came to Penn State in 2012 as a cluster hire with the Social Science Research Institute, Department of Food Science, and Department of Nutritional Sciences.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

There are many things I love about it. I love working with students, both in the classroom and in the lab. I love that every day I get to work collaboratively with so many passionate and brilliant people and the process of science and taking things from a germ of an idea to the laboratory and ultimately disseminating findings at meetings and in publications. I also love working in a culture of mentorship.

What would you describe as the biggest opportunity in the field? What is the biggest challenge?

One of the biggest opportunities in the field is capitalizing on technological innovations and Artificial Intelligence to develop personalized approaches to preventing the development of chronic disease through food and nutrition. One of the biggest challenges in the field is how to disseminate reliable nutritional information to a public that is immersed in social media and misinformation.

What is your research interest and why are you passionate about this topic(s)?

My research is aimed at understanding why children eat the foods they do, as well as the factors that drive what and how children eat. I have always been passionate about cooking and food in general, but the question of why we like and eat what we do has always fascinated me. I am also fascinated by the intersection of brain and behavior. Our studies incorporate neuroimaging to understand how children respond to common food cues in our environment, like portion size and food marketing.

What is your favorite memory of Penn State and the department?

A few favorite memories of Penn State include walking on campus on a sunny day in May when the semester has just ended, but the promise of summer in State College is just beginning.

A great memory I have of the department is how much I enjoy spending time with my colleagues. The COVID pandemic was challenging for many reasons, but not seeing my colleagues was especially difficult. When I had a difficult surgery around the holidays, so many people in the department drove homemade dinners to my house. My family ate so well and it was wonderful to taste the home cooking from people from all over the country and world.

What advice do you have for recent graduates?

You don’t have to stick to a tight script of what you think you “should” do or what you think you’ve been trained to do. Apply broadly to positions, even when you think you don’t have the expertise to do the job. So much of landing a position is about fit, personality, and timing.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I love my job, and I’m really glad I never went to medical school. If I wasn’t working in nutritional sciences research, I’d probably love to be a chef. I love food, cooking, and eating, and if you’ve ever been to a party at my house, you probably know that!