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 Founding 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.”

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.