Blake Rushing, PhD

Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Sumner Lab

Blake Rushing, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Nutrition Research Institute (NRI). Dr. Rushing is trained in pharmacology and toxicology, and has experience using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, in vitro model systems, and various biochemical assays to study the interactions between small molecule toxins/drugs with macromolecular targets such as proteins and DNA. He is well versed in using analytical instrumentation to study metabolic products of exogenous small molecule agents and their biological effects. Dr. Rushing earned a BS in Chemistry from Catawba College, and a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology in 2018 from East Carolina University. Dr. Rushing conducts research as a member of the Metabolomics and Exposome Laboratory in the Sumner Lab at NRI, and he is an investigator in the NIEHS-funded Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR) program. In these roles, he has determined metabolomic signatures and pathway perturbations associated with human disease (e.g., osteoarthritis), nutrient deficiencies in wild type and knockout animal models (e.g., folate), and cellular response to anti-cancer agents.  Dr. Rushing’s career interests lie in using omics techniques to study how nutrients and other compounds from the diet can be used to enhance the efficacy of drugs or mitigate against their adverse effects.

Collaboration Team

Yuanyuan Li, PhD

Yuanyuan Li, PhD

Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Sumner Lab

yuanli4@unc.edu
704-250-5069

Wimal Pathmasiri, PhD

Wimal Pathmasiri, PhD

Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Sumner Lab

wimal_pathmasiri@unc.edu
704-250-5069

Delisha Stewart, PhD

Delisha Stewart, PhD

Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Sumner Lab

delisha_stewart@unc.edu
704-250-5068

Susan J. Sumner, PhD

Susan J. Sumner, PhD

Professor of Nutrition

susan_sumner@unc.edu
704-250-5066

In the News

2023/24 Pilot and Feasibility Award Winners at NRI

The UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) offers annual pilot and feasibility awards to support the development of innovative research in nutrition and obesity at UNC-Chapel Hill. P&F awards enable researchers to collect preliminary data that support a...

NRI Trainees Climbing the Ladder of Success

A core objective of the NRI is to provide training opportunities to the next generation of researchers in precision nutrition, including graduate and undergraduate students. These young researchers, selected from the tops of their classes, are mentored by the NRI’s...

Publications