carol_cheatham@unc.edu
704-250-5010
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Carol L. Cheatham, PhD
Associate Professor, Psychology & Neuroscience

An important member of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute’s research team, Carol L. Cheatham, PhD, focuses on how nutrition can improve children’s brain function.  Specifically, her team studies the importance of nutrients for the development of memory and attention abilities.

Broadly defined, Dr. Cheatham’s research focuses on the relationship between an individual’s genome and the metabolism of nutrients, and how this leads to differences in cognitive and social development.  Specifically, she is interested in the development of memory and attention as they are the basis for learning, and therefore school readiness.  For example, her research asks if the supplementation of children’s diets with omega-3 fatty acids have an effect on their memory abilities over a determined period of time. Many different methods and tools are used in the Cheatham lab to assess abilities, including taking turns with the children building unique toys and the use of special equipment to read their brain activity while they are watching pictures on a computer screen.

“Dr. Cheatham is an expert on the importance of omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils) for normal brain development,” said NRI Director Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD, “This is an exciting and promising area of research that is changing the way women eat during pregnancy and lactation.”

 

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A graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, Cheatham earned her PhD in Child Psychology and Neuroscience in 2004. She then specialized in nutrition and pediatric brain development in the Kansas University Medical Center’s Department of Dietetics and Nutrition before joining UNC. She has published research on memory recall in infants born preterm, the role of fatty acids in neonatal brains, and how stress impacts brain development, as well as other topics.

Cheatham is the recipient of several honors and awards, most recently receiving the Distinguished Alumna of Northwest College Award and the New Investigator Award from the International Society for Study of Fatty Acids & Lipids.  In addition to her position at the NRI, Dr. Cheatham holds an appointment as an assistant professor in UNC’s Department of Psychology.

“I am very excited about the research being conducted at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute because it will advance the field significantly,” Cheatham said. “I look forward to the day when we will look out across a productive, bustling research campus and know that we were successful in our mission.”

For more information about Dr. Cheatham or to schedule an interview, please contact the UNC Nutrition Research Institute, 704-250-5008.

Cheatham’s Team

In the News

Neuroscientists Reveal the Snacks They Eat to Boost Memory

Neuroscientists Reveal the Snacks They Eat to Boost Memory

Nov 9, 2023

Carol Cheatham, PhD is an associate professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute. The Cheatham Lab studies the importance of nutrients for the development of memory and attention abilities. This article...

Publications

2023

Cheatham, C.L., Lukowski, A.F., Bauer, P.J. (2023). Infant memory. In John H. Byrne (Ed.), Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference (Second Edition), Academic Press, 2017, Pages 383–402, ISBN 9780128052914, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.21052-3.

 

 

2022

*Camerota, M., *Wylie, A.C., *Goldblum, J., *Wideman, L., Cheatham, C.L., Propper, C.B. (2022)  Testing a cascade model linking prenatal inflammation to child executive function. Behav Brain Res. 431:113959. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113959. Epub 2022 Jun 8. PMID: 35690156.

Cheatham, C.L., *Canipe, L.G. III, Millsap, G., Stegall, J.M., Chai, S.C., *Sheppard, K.W., Lila, M.A. (2022). Six-month intervention with wild blueberries improved speed of processing in mild cognitive decline: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Nutr Neurosci.6:1-15. doi: 10.1080/1028415X.2022.2117475. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36066009.

Cheatham, C.L., Nieman, D.C., Neilson, A.P., Lila, M.A. (2022). Enhancing the cognitive effects of flavonoids with physical activity : Is there a case for the microbiome? Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.833202

(*Student)

 

2021

*Canipe III, L. G., *Sioda, M., & Cheatham, C.L. (2021). Diversity of the gut-microbiome related to cognitive behavioral outcomes in healthy older adults. Archives of Gerontology & Geriatrics, 96,104464 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2021.104464

(*Student)

2020

Cheatham, C.L. (2020). Nutrigenetics, Fatty Acids, & Cognition, In Caterina, Martinez, & Kohlmeier  (Eds.). Principles of Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics: Fundamentals of Individualized Nutrition (pp. 347-354), London, UK: Academic Press.

Cheatham, C.L. (2020). Nutritional factors in fetal and infant brain development. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 75, 20-32. doi: 10.1159/000508052

 

 

2018

Omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid intake of children and older adults in the U.S.: dietary intake in comparison to current dietary recommendations and the Healthy Eating Index.

 

2017

Latent profile and cluster analysis of infant temperament: Comparisons across person-centered approaches.

Executive functions and the ω-6-to-ω-3 fatty acid ratio: a cross-sectional study.

Event-related potential differences in children supplemented with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids during infancy.