Research areas

A person feeding a baby

Nutrition for maternal and child health

Proper nutrition from preconception through early childhood lays the foundation for lifelong health. Collaborating with faculty across nutrition disciplines, we work to improve health and nutrition of mothers, infants and children.

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Nutrition for metabolic health

Chronic metabolic disorders like obesity, fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes are increasing rapidly. Through translational research, from cells to society, we uncover how nutrient metabolism can enhance metabolic health.

Angela Odoms-Young discusses a survey with two research assistants in Chicago, IL.

Nutrition for public health and equity 

Diet composition and quality vary widely across populations. We examine nutrition’s impact on public health and explore policies, programs and services to support communities disproportionately affected by diet-related chronic conditions.

A man fills a pipette in a nutrition lab.

Nutrition for precision health

Nutrition and health are deeply interconnected, yet standard dietary guidelines may not suit all individuals. We’re designing a holistic approach to personalized nutrition, integrating genetics, diet, circadian rhythms, health status, socioeconomic factors, food environments, physical activity and the microbiome to improve individual and population health.

Our research, teaching and extension faculty

E Andrade portrait

Senior Extension Associate
Associate Director of Downstate Partnerships and Programs

Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University Cooperative Extension - NYC
Tolunay Beker Aydemir

Associate Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Micronutrient-gene, Micronutrient-macronutrient, Micronutrient-disease
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Assistant Clinical Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Obesity, Disordered eating, Age related weight gain and weight cycling
woman smiling at the camera with a background of artwork made up of bright green squares

Associate Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Mitochondrial disease, Metabolic disease, Obesity
Laura Bellows

Professor
Director, Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research

Nutritional Sciences, Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research
Focus areas
maternal child nutrition, physical activity, community-engaged research
man wearing glasses and a button down shirt

Andre Bensadoun Associate Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Adipose tissue biology, Systemic metabolism
Portrait of Kevin Bessler

Lab Manager

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences
Portrait of Paige Cunningham

Assistant Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Eating behavior, Sensory science, Obesity, Satiation and energy intake

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences
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Associate Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Mitochondrial one-carbon metabolism, Erythritol as a biomarker
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Assistant Professor in Social and Behavioral Science in Nutrition

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Community-based interventions to promote nutrition security, Local agriculture and food insecurity, Urban food environments
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Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Epidemiology, One-carbon metabolism, Maternal and child nutrition

Extension Associate

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Food and nutrition education in communities, Farmer's market nutrition programs
Portrait of Shibani Ghosh

Associate Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Global nutrition (maternal and infant), Food systems, Nutritional and environmental determinants, Public health interventions and policy
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Associate Professor of Practice
Director, Dietetic Internship

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Dietetics education and accreditation, Medical nutrition therapy + management
woman outside

Assistant Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Molecular regulation of human milk production, Human milk composition

Lecturer
Director, Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD)

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Dietetics, Early adolescent food choice, Community nutrition

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences
man sitting in a bright blue chair

H.E. Babcock Professor of Food and Nutrition Economics and Policy

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Food security, Early life nutrition, Poverty
Samantha Lee Huey

Research Associate

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Maternal/child nutrition, Gut microbiome, Precision nutrition
portrait of a woman wearing a dark coat standing in a garden

Associate Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Host-microbe interactions, Infant nutrition, Sphingolipids

Postdoctoral Fellow

Nutritional Sciences
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Division Director
Schleifer Family Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Lipid metabolism, Molecular response to fasting, Precision nutrition
woman wearing a checked top

Associate Professor
Associate Dean for CHE in NYC

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Nutrition and health equity, Adolescents, Community-based interventions

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
microbiome-host interaction, personalized therapeutics, multiomics
Marla Lujan

Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Ovarian morphology and follicle development, Nutritional and metabolic regulation of ovulation
Leigh Ann Martin portrait in front of pink flowers

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Fellow

Nutritional Sciences
Portrait of Melisa Medina Rivera

Lecturer

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Biomedical sciences, Biochemistry, Breastfeeding and viral disease transmission
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Janet and Gordon Lankton Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Precision nutrition, Global health, Point-of-care diagnostics

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Lecturer Visiting

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Human rights, Medicine

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences
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Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Maternal/fetal nutrition, Vitamin D + iron, Gut microbiome
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Nancy Schlegel Meinig Associate Professor of Maternal and Child Nutrition

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Health equity/racism, Food and nutrition security, Social and structural determinants
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Assistant Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Precision nutrition, Gut microbiota and metabolic health, Oral microbiota and pathologies
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James Jamison Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Translational reprogramming, Nutrient stress response, mRNA epigenetics
Kelly Quinn

Lecturer

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Community-engaged learning, Dietetics

Lecturer

Nutritional Sciences

Research Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Research Associate

Nutritional Sciences
David Sahn headshot

Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Global health, Nutrition + economics in developing countries, Global food policy

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Fellow

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences
man in a blue sweater and glasses

Assistant Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Nutrition and metabolism in DNA damage, Cancer and aging, Targeted treatments for DNA damage
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Lois and Mel Tukman Assistant Professor

Nutritional Sciences
Focus areas
Brain-body interactions that govern metabolic regulation

Postdoctoral Associate

Nutritional Sciences