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Charlotte Liu is an M.S. student in Nutrition at Cornell University, working with Dr. Joeva Barrow. She earned her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, where she developed an interdisciplinary interest in nutritional biochemistry and metabolic disease. Her research interests focus on the molecular regulation of energy metabolism, particularly how mitochondrial function, lipid metabolism, and brown adipose tissue thermogenesis influence whole-body metabolic health. Charlotte hopes to combine molecular and

Aadya (she/her) is a PhD Psychology (Human Development) student at the Laboratory for Rational Decision Making. Aadya is the graduate team leader for the Health and Medical Decision Making research team. Her interests range across a variety of fields applicable to decision making and science literacy, such as belief-updating, learning, memory, and numeracy. Her theoretical research interest is in testing Bayesian updating principles against the Fuzzy Trace Theory.

Nayeon is a third-year Ph.D. student in Cornell University’s Division of Nutritional Sciences, working with Dr. Sander Kersten. She earned her B.A. in Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism from Case Western Reserve University. Her research interests center on lipid metabolism and women’s biology. She investigates how fasting alters gene expression in the liver, adipose tissue, and placenta across different reproductive stages. In particular, she seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms how fasting may disrupt maternal physiology

Savita Sastry is a Ph.D. candidate in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, mentored by Dr. Tolunay Aydemir. Her research integrates experimental and computational approaches to uncover how zinc deficiency reshapes spatial host–microbe–nutrient interactions in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Combining multi-omics analyses, region-specific murine models, and ex vivo organoid systems, she investigates how zinc availability influences microbial function, intestinal barrier integrity, and tissue regeneration. Savita also develops computational pipelines to translate murine genomics and metagenomics insights

Elliott G. Smith, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist with methodological expertise in experimental psychology and statistical analysis and content specialization in child maltreatment and child welfare. He is a Research Associate within the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research where he serves as the statistician for the Residential Child Care Project. In his research, Smith is focused on evaluation of program effectiveness and the science of practice improvement. Specific interests include feedback through data visualization