• Aydemir Lab: Assistant Professor Tolunay Aydemir
• Barrow Lab: Assistant Professor Joeva Barrow | Twitter @LabBarrow
• Berry Lab: Assistant Professor Dan Berry | Twitter @DCBerryLab
• Cassano Research Group: Professor & Division Director, Pat Cassano | Twitter @Cassano_Cornell
• Cornell Choline Cognition Research Group: Professor Barb Strupp
• Field Lab: Assistant Professor Martha Field | Twitter @marthafield7
• Figueroa Lab: Roger Figueroa, Provost New Faculty Fellow (2019-2020); Assistant Professor (eff. 7/1/20) | Twitter @RogerFigPhD
• Finkelstein Lab:  Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition | The Follett Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow Julia Finkelstein | Twitter @FinkelsteinLab
• Johnson Lab: Assistant Professor Elizabeth Johnson | Twitter @lizljohnson
• Leak Lab: Lois and Mel Tukman Associate Professor Tashara Leak | Twitter @tasharaleak
• Lujan Lab: Assistant Professor Marla Lujan | Twitter @CornellOvaryLab
• Mehta Research Group: Associate Professor, co-founder of INSiGHT, Saurabh Mehta | Twitter @MehtaRG
• O’Brien Lab: Professor Kimberly O'Brien
• Poole Lab: Assistant Professor Angela Poole
• Qian Lab: Professor Shu-Bing Qian
• Soloway Lab: Professor Paul Soloway
• Vacanti Lab: Assistant Professor Nathaniel Vacanti | Twitter @natevacanti
• Wang Lab: Assistant Professor Meng Wang, Twitter @DrMengWang, Linkedin Meng Wang

Tolunay Aydemir, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor; Nutritional Chemistry; Biochemistry, Metabolism, Obesity Prevention. The Aydemir Research Group is aimed at developing a greater understanding of how zinc and manganese function to regulate different cellular processes central to maintaining homeostasis, and thus health.

in the news | recent publications

• Intestine-specific deletion of metal transporter Zip14 (Slc39a14) causes brain manganese overload and locomotor defects of manganism

Laura Barre, M.D., R.D.; Assistant Clinical Professor. The overarching goal of Dr. Barre's research program is to reduce obesity and sarcopenic obesity in late life adults.

Joeva Barrow, Ph.D., R.D.; Assistant Professor. Professor Barrow's primary research focus is Mitochondrial disease. This group of diseases represents one of the most commonly inherited human diseases.

Twitter @LabBarrow

in the news

• Tackling Obesity and Metabolic Disease
• 2019 Winner of PCCW Affinito-Stewart Grant for "High-Throughput Screening Approaches to Combat Mitochondrial Disease"

Laura Bellows, M.P.H., Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. In 2021 she joined the faculty at Cornell after spending 20 years at Colorado State University. Her research is focused on the development of eating habits and physical activity patterns in early childhood; interventions in the early care setting; and the influence of parental behaviors and the home environment on the development of these behaviors.

in the news

• "Taking Care of Our Own": Community Members Work Together to Solve Hunger (an interview with Dr. Laura Bellows)
• Associate Professor Laura Bellows joins Division of Nutritional Sciences

Daniel Berry, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor. The Berry Lab focuses on understanding adipose tissue biology and systemic metabolism by studying adipose stem cells (ASC).

Twitter @DCBerryLab

in the news | recent publications

• Progenitor-like characteristics in a subgroup of UCP1+ cells within white adipose tissue
• miR-26 suppresses adipocyte progenitordifferentiation and fat production bytargetingFbxl19

Patricia Ann Cassano, M.P.H., Ph.D.; Professor & Division Director; the Alan D. Mathios Professor in the College of Human Ecology (CHE). The overarching goal of the Cassano Lab's research is to understand the role of nutrition and its interaction with genome in the etiology of chronic disease.

Twitter @Cassano_Cornell

in the news:

• Study: Vitamin D won’t limit risk, severity of COVID-19

David Erickson, Ph.D.; Joint Professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences; Sibley College Professor of Mechanical Engineering.  Current research interests include smartphone-based nutrition and cholesterol analysis. Dr. Davidson is a co-founder of INSiGHT, along with Dr. Saurabh Mehta, Associate Professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. INSiGHT is Cornell's Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Global Health and Technology.

Martha Field, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor. The Field Lab studies gene-nutrient-environment interactions, and underlying molecular mechanisms, that lead to development of pathology.  These efforts are currently centered around:  1) the role of nutrition in maintaining mitochondrial DNA integrity and mitochondrial function, 2) understanding the role of the blood-brain barrier in maintaining brain nutrient status, and 3) understanding the relationship between specific gene variants in defining genetic predisposition to weight gain. 

Twitter @marthafield7

in the news | recent publications

• Chronic dietary erythritol exposure elevates plasma erythritol concentration in mice but does not cause weight gain or modify glucose homeostasis
• Merrill Scholars thank educators who shaped Cornell journey
• Wheat flour fortification with iron and other micronutrients for reducing anaemia and improving iron status in populations
• Online Misinformation Fuels a Fight Over Folic Acid
• Researchers in the Division of Nutritional Sciences received awards for their work at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Science Research Conference on Folic Acid, Vitamin B₁₂ and One-Carbon Metabolism
• Mammalian metabolism of erythritol: a predictive biomarker of metabolic dysfunction
• 2019 Winner of PCCW Affinito-Stewart Grant for "Novel methods to detect uracil misincorporation in mitochondrial DNA at near base-pair resolution"
• The Role of Brain Barrier in Maintaining Brain Vitamin Levels
• Deoxyuracil in DNA and disease: Genomic signal or managed situation?
• New metabolic discovery may inform heart disease, diabetes solutions

• Understanding the metabolic pathways to obesity and diabetes

Roger Figueroa, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Sc. is a Provost New Faculty Fellow (2019-2020), Assistant Professor (eff. 7/1/20) in Social and Behavioral Science in Nutrition in the Division of Nutritional Science. The Figueroa Interdisciplinary Group (FIG Lab) combines concepts and methods across disciplinary boundaries to examine interconnections between the social and behavioral determinants of health, with a particular focus on children's energy-balance behaviors in underrepresented and low-income communities.

Twitter @RogerFigPhD

in the news | recent publications

• Cornell experts advocate for ag diversity, food security

• Motivation, Attitudes, and Diet Quality Among US Parents and Adolescents

• Targeting family functioning, acculturative stress, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption for obesity prevention: findings from the Hispanic community children’s health study/study of Latino youth

• Development and Validation of a Parental Health-Related Empowerment Scale with Low Income Parents

• Grants seed social science research, conferences

• Communities for Healthy Living (CHL) A Community-based Intervention to Prevent Obesity in Low-Income Preschool Children: Process Evaluation Protocol

• Antenatal dietary concordance among mothers and fathers and gestational weight gain: a longitudinal study

Julia Finkelstein, M.P.H., S.M., Sc.D.; Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition | The Follett Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow; Cornell Global Ambassador. The goal of the Finkelstein Laboratory is to determine the role of iron, vitamin B₁₂, and folate in the etiology of anemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes, to inform the development of interventions to improve the health of mothers and young children. Major research projects include randomized trials, cohort studies, and surveillance programs in Southern India.

Twitter @FinkelsteinLab

in the news | recent publications

• Anemia and Vitamin B-12 and Folate Status in Women of Reproductive Age in Southern India: Estimating Population-Based Risk of Neural Tube Defects
• Presence of Ebola virus in breast milk and risk of mother‐to‐child transmission: synthesis of evidence
• Periconceptional surveillance for prevention of anaemia and birth defects in Southern India: protocol for a biomarker survey in women of reproductive age
• Researchers in the Division of Nutritional Sciences received awards for their work at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Science Research Conference on Folic Acid, Vitamin B₁₂ and One-Carbon Metabolism
• Transmission of novel coronavirus-19 through breast milk and breastfeeding. A living systematic review of the evidence
• Faculty inform WHO’s COVID-19 and breastfeeding guidelines
• Nutritional assessment among adult patients with suspected or confirmed active tuberculosis disease in rural India
• Fluorescence lateral flow competitive protein binding assay for the assessment of serum folate concentrations
• Impact study demonstrates Bt brinjal (eggplant) helps farmers earn more with less pesticide

• Julia Finkelstein, Division of Nutritional Sciences, named as a Cornell Global Ambassador

Emily Gier, M.B.A., R.D.; Associate Professor of Practice and Dietetic Internship Director

As the Director of the Dietetic Internship (DI) Emily assists students with the pursuit of a career in dietetics. The DI provides students with supervised practice in dietetics to qualify graduates to obtain the credential of Registered Dietitian/Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RD/RDN). Emily's areas of expertise include clinical nutrition and management as it applies to the field of dietetics and health care settings. Areas of interest include the nutrition care process, nutrition support, medical nutrition therapy and process improvement. Emily is also interested in health care management of resources (staff, insurance issues, regulation), particularly in the acute care setting.

John F. Hoddinott, D.Phil.; Babcock Professor of Food and Nutrition Economics and Policy. Professor Hoddinott's current research interests focus on the links between economics, food security and early life nutrition. He has ongoing collaborative projects in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Guatemala.

in the news | recent publications

• Assessing the impact of a combined nutrition counselling and cash transfer intervention on women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh: a randomised control trial protocol

• What empowerment indicators are important for food consumption for women? Evidence from 5 sub-Sahara African countries

• Bangladesh outshines high-income countries in inclusive recovery from Covid-19 economic fallout

• Ethiopia's social safety net effective in limiting COVID-19 impacts on rural food insecurity

• Overcoming the Food Security and Nutrition Roadblocks in Social Protection Responses to COVID-19
• Early-Life Nutrition and Subsequent International Migration: A Prospective Study in Rural Guatemala
• Shonjibon cash and counselling: a community-based cluster randomised controlled trial to measure the effectiveness of unconditional cash transfers and mobile behaviour change communications to reduce child undernutrition in rural Bangladesh
• Conceptualising COVID-19’s impacts on household food security
• Linear Growth Trajectories in Early Childhood and Adult Cognitive and Socioemotional Functioning in a Guatemalan Cohort
• Nutrition, Adult Cognitive Skills, and Productivity: Results and Influence of the INCAP Longitudinal Study
• E-Vouchers For Food Might Reduce Stunting In Rohingya Children Living In Bangladesh
• Hoddinott awarded The Bruce Gardner Memorial Prize for Applied Policy Analysis
• Can village nutrition schools reduce widespread malnutrition?
• Food markets near Ethiopia’s poor provide too little diversity at too high a price: new study
• Impact study demonstrates Bt brinjal (eggplant) helps farmers earn more with less pesticide
• The World Food Prize is courting the private sector. What could go wrong?
• 'Difficult policy choices lie ahead' to improve Rohingya nutrition, research finds
• Rohingyas displaced to Bangladesh face an uncertain future
• Policy seminar: Rohingyas displaced to Bangladesh face an uncertain future
• Cash transfers prevent intimate partner violence: Study
• Can a woman's rising social status bring down rates of domestic violence?

Elizabeth (Liz) Johnson, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor. Research in the Johnson Lab focuses on how bioactive lipids from the diet influence the development of the microbiome in infants and how the production of lipids by the gut microbiome can influence host metabolism.

in the news | recent publications

• Elizabeth Johnson named CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar

• ASN Member Spotlight

• Study tracks how milk nutrients shape infant microbiome

• Dietary sphinganine is selectively assimilated by members of the mammalian gut microbiome

• A Gutsy Endeavor: Understanding Metabolites of the Humans’ “Hidden Organ”
• Sphingolipids produced by gut bacteria enter host metabolic pathways impacting ceramide levels

Sander Kersten, Ph.D.;  Professor and Incoming Director; the Schleifer Family Professor in the College of Human Ecology. The Kersten Research Group aims to elucidate the molecular mechanism that underlies the regulation of lipid metabolism in the liver and adipose tissue during fasting and feeding.

Tashara Leak, Ph.D., R.D.; Associate Professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell, Assistant Professor of Nutrition Research in Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Leak is a health equity researcher who conducts interventions that aim to improve dietary behaviors of culturally diverse, urban adolescents at risk for developing obesity-related chronic diseases (e.g., type 2 diabetes). Learn more about the Leak Lab.

Twitter @tasharaleak

in the news | recent publications

• Facilitators and barriers to preparing and offering whole grains to children diagnosed with prediabetes: qualitative interviews with low-income caregivers

• Sociodemographic characteristics are associated with prevalence of high-risk waist circumference and high-risk waist-to-height ratio in U.S. adolescents

• Milman Fellow Tashara Leak’s work supports low-income urban adolescent nutrition

• Assistant Professor Tashara Leak awarded Schwartz Research Fund

• New York City Youth Liking of Fruits, Vegetables, and Whole Grains Snacks and Corner Store Purchasing Behaviors Are Associated with Willingness to Buy Whole Grain Snack Packs (FS02-04-19)
• Youth Willingness to Purchase Whole Grain Snack Packs from New York City Corner Stores Participating in a Healthy Retail Program
• Targeting health disparities among urban youth
• Urban Health
• Children Residing in Low-Income Households Like a Variety of Vegetables
• The Role of Adolescents From a Low Socioeconomic Background in Household Food Preparation: A Qualitative Study
• 2018 Winner of PCCW Affinito-Stewart Grant for “Facilitators and Barriers to Participating in After School Activities: Perspectives of Low-Income Urban Youth”
• Recent Uptrend in Whole-Grain Intake Is Absent for Low-Income Adolescents, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2012

Marla Lujan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Leader for Diversity and Inclusion in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. The focus of Lujan Lab relates to the interplay of nutrition and metabolic status with women’s reproductive health. Specific interests include elucidating mechanisms whereby diet, metabolism and adiposity impact ovulation; and developing use ultrasonographic features of ovarian morphology as point-of-care diagnostic indicators for ovulatory disorders, risk of concurrent comorbidities and response to diet intervention.

Twitter @CornellOvaryLab

in the news | recent publications

• A comparison of two- and three-dimensional ultrasonographic methods for evaluation of ovarian follicle counts and classification of polycystic ovarian morphology
• Associations of diet, physical activity and polycystic ovary syndrome in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Women's Study
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Incidental Diagnosis of Mosaic Turner Syndrome
• Disparities in cardio-metabolic risk between Black and White women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis
• Effects of Dietary Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load on Cardiometabolic and Reproductive Profiles in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
• Ultrasound characterization of disordered antral follicle development in women with polycystic ovary syndrome
• Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and Hyperandrogenism Mediate the Link between Poor Diet Quality and Ovarian Dysmorphology in Reproductive-Aged Women
• Osteosarcopenia in reproductive-aged women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a multicenter case-control study
• Lujan Lab member awarded CIHR Post-Doc Fellowship Award
• Your Questions Answered: International Lifestyle Recommendations for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
• A Commentary on the New Evidence-Based Lifestyle Recommendations for Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Potential Barriers to Their Implementation in the United States
• Women with PCOS report lack of trust, emotional support in primary care
• PCOS: What's the gap in patient and physician relationship?
• Women with PCOS report 'sense of inevitability' regarding weight gain, adverse outcomes
• Researcher alters how ovarian syndrome is diagnosed
• PCOS Advocacy Day

Saurabh Mehta, Sc.D., M.B.B.S.; The Janet and Gordon Lankton Chair in the College of Human Ecology and Associate Professor of Global Health, Epidemiology, and Nutrition. Dr. Mehta is a physician and an epidemiologist with expertise in infectious disease, nutrition, maternal and child health, and diagnostics. He is co-founder of INSiGHT with David Erickson. This collaboration seeks to reduce health care disparities through technology. The Mehta Research Group primarily works in India with a focus on vulnerable populations including mothers and children, and those suffering from infectious diseases such as HIV infection, Tuberculosis, Dengue virus infection, Zika virus infection, and Malaria. Dr. Mehta was also appointed as an inaugural Global Public Voices (GPV) Faculty Fellow for AY 2020-2021 by the Einaudi Center and is the director of the Program in International Nutrition in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell.

Twitter @MehtaRG

in the news | recent publications

• An isothermal amplification-based point-of-care diagnostic platform for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a proof-of-concept study
• Precision Nutrition for Population Health
• Mobile phone-based saliva test wins NIH prize
• Transmission of novel coronavirus-19 through breast milk and breastfeeding. A living systematic review of the evidence
• An Electronic Data Capture Framework (ConnEDCt) for Global and Public Health Research: Design and Implementation
• Faculty inform WHO’s COVID-19 and breastfeeding guidelines
• Current state of the art in rapid diagnostics for antimicrobial resistance
• Members of DNS win SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence
• The Nutrition-Disease Connection
• International faculty fellows make global impact
• WHO turns to Cornell experts for advice on Zika-infected moms

• Collaboration seeks to reduce health care disparities through technology

Kimberly O'Brien, Ph.D.; Professor. The main research interests of the O'Brien Lab focus on mineral dynamics (calcium, iron and vitamin D) and genetic determinants of mineral absorption. On-going research also addresses maternal and fetal nutrient partitioning and the mechanisms used to control nutrient flux at the level of the placenta.  

in the news

• Cornell partners in $10M poultry science grant
• How to Deal with Periods During Ramadan Fasting

Angela Odoms-Young, Ph.D (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor and Director of the Food and Nutrition Education in Communities Program (FNEC) and New York State Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). In 2021 she joined the Cornell faculty after spending 13 years at University of Illinois at Chicago in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition. 
Dr. Odoms-Young’s research explores the social and structural determinants of dietary behaviors and related health outcomes in low-income populations and black, Indigenous and people of color. Her work also centers on developing culturally responsive programs and policies that promote health equity, food justice, and community resilience. 

in the news | recent publications

• How Communities Facing Food Insecurity Are Creating Equitable Systems
• The city’s first food equity council works to feed everyone
• Closing the Gap On Food Insecurity: What Would It Take To Solve The Problem (Part 4)
• Examining the Impact of Structural Racism on Food Insecurity: Implications for Addressing Racial/Ethnic Disparities
• Emotional Eating Predicts Weight Regain Among Black Women in the SisterTalk Intervention
• Gender and racial/ethnic differences in food selectivity in children with intellectual disabilities
• Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) does not support "Public Charge Rule" changes affecting immigrants' food security
• Individual and Household-Level Factors Associated With Caregivers' Intention to Keep Their Child Enrolled in WIC

Prabhu Pingali, Ph.D.; Professor and Director, Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI). Professor Pingali is the Founding Director of TCI and a Professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, with a joint appointment in the Division of Nutritional Sciences.

Angela Poole, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor. The long-term goal of the Poole Lab is to design and implement precision nutrition protocols that personalize dietary fiber intake to improve metabolic health.

in the news

• Two life scientists win 2020 Schwartz awards
• Study reveals link between starch digestion gene, gut bacteria
• 2019 Winner of PCCW Affinito-Stewart Grant for "The Impact of Gene-Diet-Microbe Interactions on Host Health"

Shu-Bing Qian, Ph.D.; Professor; The James Jamison Professor in Nutrition. The Qian Lab has a long standing interest in molecular mechanisms of translational control in mammalian cells; specifically, focusing on nutrient signaling, ribosome dynamics, mRNA modification, stress response, and their implications in human diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders.

in the news

• Nutrition professor wins $3.5M award from NIH
• Nutrient control of mRNA translation

David Sahn, Ph.D.; International Professor of Economics in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Department of Economics. Professor Sahn's research is focused on issues of poverty, inequality, and the economics of health, nutrition, and education. His main academic interest is in identifying the solutions to poverty, malnutrition, disease and low cognitive ability in developing countries. Presently he is engaged in a major study that looks at the determinants and impacts of key demographic and economic transitions of young women in Madagascar and Senegal with a focus on understanding the importance of family background, community environment, and public policy (including school access and availability of social services) in determining early life course transitions such as leaving school, entering the labor market, childbearing, and the health and nutrition of infants and young children. In addition to teaching and mentoring of graduate students, he devotes considerable efforts to training and capacity-building of research institutions in Africa and working with government officials and international organizations to integrate research findings into policy.

Paul Soloway, Ph.D.; Professor. Professor Soloway's research activities are in the area of epigenetics and includes several separate sets of projects.  One of these seeks to characterize the mechanisms regulating the epigenetic phenomena of DNA and histone methylation in mice using the Rasgrf1 gene as a model.  These methylation events are potent regulators of gene expression and respond to environmental variables, including nutrition, in ways that are stable and inheritable.  A second set of projects in collaboration with Prof. Barbara Strupp to characterize epigenomic mechanisms by which maternal choline supplementation leads to improved cognitive outcomes in the progeny.  Recent advances in epigenomic methods make this project tractable.  

Barbara Strupp, Ph.D.; Professor, Director of Graduate Studies in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. Professor Strupp's research activities include maternal choline supplementation research using animal models, maternal choline supplementation research with human subjects; investigating whether the lasting cognitive benefits of maternal choline supplementation in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome and normal littermates are mediated by epigenetics effects due to choline's role as a methyl donor and; collaborating on a project with collaborators at UC Santa Cruz and the University of Illinois to investigate the lasting cognitive and neural effects of early developmental exposure to Manganese. Learn more at the Choline Cognition Research Group.

in the news

• Choline Study awarded CCSS Spring 2021 grant

Nathaniel Vacanti, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor. The Vacanti Lab's research interests include combining high-throughput proteomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatic analyses with targeted metabolic investigative methods including stable-isotope tracing and respirometry measurements to identify pharmaceutical or dietary interventions to correct/exploit metabolic dysfunctions.

in the news

• Correcting for Naturally Occurring Mass Isotopologue Abundances in Stable-Isotope Tracing Experiments with PolyMID
• Course curriculum initiative develops data science and programming skills within Human Ecology
• Systemic vitamin intake impacting tissue proteomes
• Breast cancer quantitative proteome and proteogenomic landscape
• The Fundamentals of Constructing and Interpreting Heat Maps

Meng Wang, M.D. Ph.D.; Assistant Professor. The Wang Lab aims to discover how our nutrition and metabolism can produce chemicals that damage DNA, and how this can affect cancer development and the aging process. Knowledge in this field can be translated to novel precision therapies to target cancer and to slow aging.

Twitter @DrMengWang

in the news | recent publications

• Genotoxic aldehydes produced from mammalian metabolism is a cause of aging in blood stem cells (https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/fulltext/S1097-2765(23)00419-7)
• Meng Wang awarded NIHR-BSH Research of the Year (https://b-s-h.org.uk/about-us/awards-and-prizes)
• Cornell CALS meet our new faculty spotlight: Meng Wang (https://cals.cornell.edu/news/2023/05/meet-our-faculty-meng-wang)