Click on one of the primary research areas below to learn more. Faculty members engaged in each research area are listed under the sub-topics. Those who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*). This list may change throughout the admissions cycle.
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Precision Nutrition
Studies that focus on heterogeneity in diet-related effects. Large clinical- and population-based studies are often used as they provide inter-individual variation in exposures and outcomes. Data that captures individual-level heterogeneity in processing of nutrients and their differential health effects as captured with genetic, microbial, and metabolome data.
Diet studies using big data, either in terms of big numbers of research participants and/or large numbers of data points (e.g., molecular, genomic, environmental, nutrient)
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Shufa Du
- Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Folami Ideraabdullah*
- Elizabeth Mayer-Davis*
- Shu Wen Ng*
- Wimal Pathmasiri
- Barry Popkin
- Susan Sumner*
- Saroja Voruganti*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics
Studies of genetic variation and genomic processes, particularly in relation to dietary intake
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Cynthia Bulik
- Shufa Du
- Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Stephen Hursting
- Folami Ideraabdullah*
- Nobuyo Maeda
- Elizabeth Mayer-Davis*
- Katie Meyer*
- Sandra Mooney*
- Wimal Pathmasiri
- S. Raza Shaikh
- Susan Smith*
- Susan Sumner*
- Saroja Voruganti*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Diet and Microbiome
Studies of the inter-relationships between host dietary intake and microbiota
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Andrea Azcarate-Peril
- Cynthia Bulik
- Ian Carroll
- Shufa Du
- Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Stephen Hursting
- Elizabeth Mayer-Davis*
- Katie Meyer*
- Sandra Mooney*
- Wimal Pathmasiri
- S. Raza Shaikh
- Susan Smith*
- Susan Sumner*
- Amanda Thompson*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Diet, Health and Disease
Studies that focus on the connection between dietary intake and health and disease. Studies may focus on direct associations between nutrition-related exposures and health outcomes or they may be focused on methodological strategies and innovations to measure diet-related exposures. A major departmental focus is on obesity and its role in other diseases. Given differential effects of diet exposures at different points in the lifecycle, a major focus is on addressing short- and long-term nutrition-related impacts.
Diet for Health and DiseaseStudies that address associations between dietary intake and health outcomes, such as undernutrition, obesity, diabetes, cardiometabolic and cardiovascular diseases.
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Alice Ammerman*
- John Batsis
- Kyle Burger*
- Shufa Du
- Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Stephen Hursting
- Folami Ideraabdullah*
- Anna Kahkoska, MD, PhD*
- Natalia Krupenko*
- Stephanie Martin*
- Elizabeth Mayer-Davis*
- Katie Meyer*
- Sandra Mooney*
- Shu Wen Ng*
- Barry Popkin
- S. Raza Shaikh
- Nipun Saini, PhD*
- Susan Smith*
- Lindsey Smith-Taillie
- Susan Sumner*
- Deborah Tate
- Amanda Thompson*
- Matt Ulgherait*
- Carmina Valle*
- Saroja Voruganti
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Lifecycle Nutrition
Studies that examine differential nutrition-related effects across the lifecycle, such as fetal origins of disease, childhood exposures and later health outcomes, intergenerational diet effects, and development of disease over the lifecycle.
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Linda Adair
- Alice Ammerman*
- John Batsis
- Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Amanda Holliday
- Stephen Hursting
- Folami Ideraabdullah*
- Stephanie Martin*
- Sandra Mooney*
- Susan Sumner*
- Amanda Thompson*
- Heather Wasser*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Diet Phenotyping
Methodological studies designed to measure diet as an exposure or an outcome. Studies may focus on diet collection methodologies, diet assessment, novel methods for analysis of diet data, diet patterning and diet quality.
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Linda Adair
- Kyle Burger
- Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Stephen Hursting
- Katie Meyer*
- Barry Popkin
- Lindsey Smith-Taillie
- Susan Sumner*
- Amanda Thompson*
- Kimberly Truesdale
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Community and Environmental Exposures
Studies that characterize community- and environment-related diet and nutrition exposures. Studies may focus on large-scale environments as captured by GPS, agricultural and sustainable food systems, chemical and toxic pollutant exposures, or detailed characterizations of microenvironments.
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Alice Ammerman*
- Linda Adair
- Molly Demarco*
- Shufa Du
- Penny Gordon-Larsen*
- Stephanie Martin*
- Shu Wen Ng*
- Barry Popkin
- Susan Smith*
- Lindsey Smith-Taillie
- Jessica Soldavini
- Mirek Styblo
- Susan Sumner*
- Kimberly Truesdale
- Carmina Valle*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Fundamentals of Nutrition and Metabolism
Studies that address general nutrition physiology and metabolism to advance understanding of mechanisms of health and disease. Studies may focus on a single biochemical process or they may integrate across signaling pathways and systems. The vast majority of these studies involve a basic science component.
Nutrition MechanismsBasic science studies that use cell, animal, or human models of nutrition-related impacts to understand mechanisms of health and disease. Studies may focus on basic physiological mechanisms, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion pathways and cover topics ranging from immunology to chronic disease.
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Ian Carroll
- Anthony Hackney
- Natalia Krupenko*
- Sergey Krupenko
- Nobuyo Maeda
- Elizabeth Mayer-Davis*
- S. Raza Shaikh
- Nipun Saini, PhD*
- Susan Smith *
- Mirek Styblo
- Susan Sumner *
- Matt Ulgherait*
- Saroja Voruganti*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Translational and Integrative Nutrition
Studies that address internal signaling of macronutrients, electrolytes, micronutrients and water and functional pathways across multiple systems. Attention to integrative physiological pathways and responses to signals arising from the presence of specific nutrients, metabolites, microbiome derived small molecules, diets and dietary patterns, along with the translational role of these signals.
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Linda Adair
- Cynthia Bulik
- Kyle Burger
- Ian Carroll
- Anthony Hackney
- Stephen Hursting
- Sergey Krupenko
- Nobuyo Maeda
- Elizabeth Mayer-Davis
- Susan Smith*
- Susan Sumner*
- Matt Ulgherait*
- Saroja Voruganti*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Understanding and Changing Diet Related Behavior
Studies that focus on the behavioral aspects of diet, nutrition and lifestyles. Studies that develop a better understanding of the placement of behaviors in social and biological context. A significant area of research is in behavioral change and interventions involving novel methodologies for intervention tools, design, and analysis. Broad policy-related science is also a major focus, including societal, community, and local settings as well as novel methodologies for policy evaluation. Many department faculty focus on weight management and obesity-related behaviors.
Behavioral StudiesStudies that further the understanding of diet-and lifestyle-related behaviors, including population-level behaviors as well as individual-level variation in a wide variety of behavior-related factors, including cognitive, social, behavioral, economic, and environmental factors as well as biological and developmental context. Behaviors may focus on discrete types of diet behaviors, overall diet behavior patterns, physical activity or other nutrition-related behaviors.
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Alice Ammerman*
- John Batsis
- Kyle Burger
- Shufa Du
- Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Derek Hales
- Anna Kahkoska, MD, PhD*
- Elizabeth Mayer-Davis*
- Shu Wen Ng*
- Barry Popkin
- Jessica Soldavini
- Lindsey Smith-Taillie
- Susan Sumner*
- Carmina Valle*
- Heather Wasser*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Behavioral Change and Intervention
Studies that address interventions to change behaviors, ranging from clinical to population settings. Studies may focus on intervention strategies, efficacy and sustainability, behavior change theories, measurement and design, novel data collection and intervention technologies, as well as innovations in randomized control trial design and implementation science. Interventions may focus on a wide variety of behaviors, ranging from micronutrient supplementation, weight control trials, environment-related disease to diabetes or other diseases.
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Alice Ammerman*
- John Batsis
- Molly Demarco*
- Derek Hales
- Anna Kahkoska, MD, PhD*
- Stephanie Martin*
- Elizabeth Mayer-Davis*
- Shu Wen Ng*
- Carmen Samuel-Hodge
- Lindsey Smith-Taillie*
- Jessica Soldavini
- Mirek Styblo
- Susan Sumner*
- Deborah Tate
- Kimberly Truesdale
- Carmina Valle*
- Heather Wasser*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Nutrition Policy
Studies that directly address nutrition policy or have policy-relevant focus. Areas of focus include range from societal-level food systems, pricing, and taxation to community-level food access, to specific settings such as school, day care centers or workplaces. Other areas include novel methodological approaches such as natural and simulated experiments as well as policy and program evaluation. Dissemination of nutrition-related information such as nutrition education, training and evaluation are also included.
Faculty members conducting research in this area include:
- Alice Ammerman*
- Shufa Du
- Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Katie Meyer*
- Barry Popkin
- Jessica Soldavini
- Lindsey Smith-Taillie
- Susan Sumner*
- Shu Wen Ng*
- Heather Wasser*
Faculty members who are potentially seeking new doctoral students for Fall 2025 are indicated by an (*).
Other Nutrition Research Resources
Nutrition Department Faculty Profiles and Research
Nutrition Research Institute (NRI)
UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC)
