Research
Nutrition, Behavior, and the Environment
Nutrition, Behavior, and the Environment
For Gillings researchers, health is an inexorably linked system requiring single and multi-level approaches to promote “one health”, featuring the interconnectedness of the health of people, animals, and the environment. Our efforts are focused on achieving optimal nutrition, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments for people around the globe.
Highlighted Leaders in the Field
Other Leaders in the Field
| Linda Adair, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Seema Agrawal, EdD | Assistant Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Alice Ammerman, DrPH | Mildred Kaufman Distinguished Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Gustavo Angeles, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Maternal and Child Health |
| Louise Margaret Ball, PhD | Professor, Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Melinda Beck, PhD | Professor, Associate Chair for Academics and Interim Chair | Department of Nutrition |
| Margaret (Peggy) Bentley, MA, PhD | Distinguished Professor Emerita | Department of Nutrition |
| Wanda Bodnar, PhD | Assistant Professor | |
| Cynthia Bulik, PhD, FAED | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Kyle S. Burger, PhD, MPH, RD | Associate Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Ximena M. Bustamante-Marin, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Jianwen Cai, PhD | Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor | Department of Biostatistics |
| Ian Carroll, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Gregory Characklis, PhD | W. R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Orlando Coronell, PhD | Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Academics | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| David Couper, PhD | Professor | Department of Biostatistics |
| Julie L. Daniels, PhD | Professor | Departments of Epidemiology and Maternal and Child Health |
| Molly De Marco, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Robert DeVellis, PhD | Professor Emeritus | Department of Health Behavior |
| Radhika Dhingra, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Shufa Du, MD, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Michael B. Fisher, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Vangie Foshee, PhD | Adjunct Professor | Department of Health Behavior |
| Nora Franceschini, MD, MPH, FAHA | Professor | Department of Epidemiology |
| John E. French, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Leah Frerichs, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Health Policy and Management |
| Rebecca Fry, PhD | Carol Remmer Angle Distinguished Professor in Children’s Environmental Health and Associate Chair for Strategic Initiatives | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Avram Gold, PhD | Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Penny Gordon-Larsen, PhD | Carla Smith Chamblee Distinguished Professor of Global Nutrition and Interim Vice Chancellor for Research | Department of Nutrition |
| Misa Graff, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Epidemiology |
| Anthony Hackney, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Carolyn T. Halpern, PhD | Professor and Chair | Department of Maternal and Child Health |
| Gerardo Heiss, PhD | W.R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor | Department of Epidemiology |
| Jim Herrington, PhD | Adjunct Professor | Department of Health Behavior |
| Amanda S. Holliday, MS, RD, LDN | Associate Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Annie Green Howard, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Biostatistics |
| Stephen D. Hursting, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Folami Ideraabdullah, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Anastasia Ivanova, PhD | Professor | Department of Biostatistics |
| Noah Kittner, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Martin Kohlmeier, MD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Natalia I. Krupenko, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Sergey A. Krupenko, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Meg Landfried, MPH | Assistant Professor and MPH Practicum Director | Department of Health Behavior |
| Kun Lu, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Leslie A. Lytle, PhD | Adjunct Professor | Department of Health Behavior |
| Nobuyo Maeda, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Stephanie L. Martin, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Chantel Martin, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Epidemiology |
| Philip A. May, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, PhD | Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Nutrition and Medicine | Department of Nutrition |
| Steven Meshnick, MD, PhD | Professor | Department of Epidemiology |
| Katie Meyer, ScD | Assistant Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Sandra Mooney, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Shu Wen Ng, PhD | Distinguished Scholar In Public Health Nutrition and Associate Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Kari North, PhD | Professor | Department of Epidemiology |
| Leena Nylander-French, PhD, CIH | Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Andrew Olshan, PhD | Barbara Sorenson Hulka Distinguished Professor in Cancer Epidemiology | Department of Epidemiology |
| Aunchalee Palmquist, PhD, MA, IBCLC | Assistant Professor | Department of Maternal and Child Health |
| David Peden, MD, MS | Adjunct Professor | Departments of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and Epidemiology |
| Barry M. Popkin, PhD | W. R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Bahjat Qaqish, PhD | Professor | Department of Biostatistics |
| Julia Rager, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Dana Rice, DrPH | Assistant Professor | Public Health Leadership Program |
| Barbara K. Rimer, DrPH, MPH | Dean Emerita and Alumni Distinguished Professor | Department of Health Behavior |
| Whitney R. Robinson, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Epidemiology |
| Carmen Samuel-Hodge, RD, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Marc Serre, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Saame "Raz" Shaikh, PhD | Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Research | Department of Nutrition |
| Timothy Sheahan, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Epidemiology |
| Paschal Sheeran, PhD | Adjunct Professor | Department of Health Behavior |
| Amy Sims, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Epidemiology |
| Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Susan M. Smith, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Mark D. Sobsey, PhD | Professor (Retired, Part-Time) | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Daniela Sotres-Alvarez, DrPH | Associate Professor | Department of Biostatistics |
| June Stevens, PhD | Distinguished Professor | Departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition |
| Jill Stewart, PhD | Philip C. Singer Distinguished Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Delisha Stewart, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Mirek Styblo, PhD | Professor | Departments of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and Nutrition |
| Susan Sumner, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Jason D. Surratt, PhD | Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Sean Y. Sylvia, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Health Policy and Management |
| Amanda Thompson, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Barbara J. Turpin, PhD | Professor and Chair | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Carmina G. Valle, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Anthony J. Viera, MD, MPH | Adjunct Professor | Departments of and Epidemiology, and Public Health Leadership Program |
| William Vizuete, PhD | Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Saroja Voruganti, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Dianne Stanton Ward, EdD, FTOS, FACSM | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Heather Wasser, PhD | Assistant Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Paul Watkins, MD | Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Howard Weinberg, PhD | Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Jason West, PhD | Professor, Director of Graduate Studies | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Dale Whittington, PhD | Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Courtney G. Woods, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD | Professor | Department of Nutrition |
| Zhenfa Zhang, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Haibo Zhou, PhD | Professor | Department of Biostatistics |
| Bharathi Jayanthi Zvara, PhD | Associate Professor | Department of Maternal and Child Health |
Highlighted Courses Related to Nutrition, Behavior, and the Environment
- NUTR 175 – Introduction to Food Studies: From Science to Society
- NUTR 245 – Sustainable Local Food Systems: Intersection of Local Foods and Public Health
- NUTR 611 – Nutrition across the Life Cycle
- EPID 785 – Environmental Epidemiology
- EPID 786 – Community-Driven Epidemiology and Environmental Justice
- EPID 813 – Nutritional Epidemiology
- EPID 815 – Diet and Cancer
- EPID 818 – Analytical Methods in Nutritional Epidemiology
- EPID 825 – Social Determinants of Health: Theory, Method, and Intervention
- EPID 826 – Social Epidemiology: Concepts and Measures
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