Jenna Li
Jenna is an ASCP board-certified Medical Laboratory Scientist with professional experience in the food and dietary supplement industry. Through this work, she recognized gaps between scientific research and public understanding of nutrition, motivating her to focus on translating evidence into practical nutritional strategies. Her current research examines the role of micronutrients in metabolic diseases from an epidemiological perspective. She is committed to advancing research that integrates nutritional science and public health to inform interventions that
Nayeon Jeon
Nayeon is a second-year Ph.D. student in Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, working under the mentorship of Dr. Dan Berry. Her research explores the spatiotemporal remodeling of white adipose tissue across age, sex, and diets with a focus on lineage tracing and adipocyte progenitor dynamics. Nayeon is motivated by a desire to uncover how nutritional and hormonal factors shape adipose tissue plasticity and metabolic health. She aims to translate basic mechanistic insights into broader understanding
Nicholas Cheng
Nicholas is a Ph.D. candidate in Nutrition for Metabolic Health, working with Dr. Meng Wang. He earned a B.S. in Food Science and Technology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of California, Davis. Nicholas’ research interests focus on how metabolic processes influence disease development, with a particular focus on cancer and accelerated aging. In Dr. Meng Wang’s lab, Nicholas investigates aldehydes as a metabolic source of DNA damage and examines the mechanisms underlying
Min Ruei Lee
Min Ruei is a second-year MS student in O'Brien's lab, where she investigates menstrual characteristics and iron status in East Asian and Northern European individuals. She earned her bachelor's degree from Taipei Medical University and obtained her registered dietitian credential in Taiwan. Her research journey began at Taipei Medical University, where she studied the mechanisms by which hepassocin contributes to the progression of pancreatic cancer cells undergoing eicosapentaenoic acid treatment. This experience sparked her interest
Chloe Thea Purello
Chloe is a second-year PhD student in Dr. Martha Field's lab studying folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism (FOCM) and chronic disease. More specifically, she is investigating the roles of folate and vitamin B12 in mitochondrial DNA maintenance and stability, as well as the metabolic consequences of perturbed FOCM. Through her research, she aims to understand how these gene-nutrient interactions shape cellular metabolism and produce biomarkers that reflect health and disease states. In the future, she hopes to
Mariana Bolinaga Sanz
Mariana Bolinaga Sanz is an M.S. student in Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, pursuing an individualized track with a minor in Food Science. She graduated with a B.S. in Nutrition & Dietetics from Boston University and is a Registered Dietetic Technician. Mariana conducts research in the O’Brien Lab examining how different types of hormonal contraceptive use influence iron metabolism and absorption in reproductive-age women. She is passionate about advancing evidence-based approaches in women’s health and
Devika Saran
Devika Saran is a Ph.D. student in International Nutrition at Cornell University, under the guidance of Professor John Hoddinott. Her research explores into the factors that drive improvements in malnutrition in Bangladesh and how evidence-based nutritional solutions can enhance food environments and overall population well-being. She holds an M.S. in Food Science and Nutrition from SNDT University, Mumbai, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Nutrition from the University of Delhi, India.
Before joining Cornell, she