dtate@unc.edu
919-966-7546
Deborah Tate, PhD
Interim Director, Professor of Nutrition
Deborah Tate is the interim director and a professor in the Department of Nutrition. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Health Behavior and a faculty appointment at the Nutrition Research Institute. Dr. Tate is a behavioral scientist, receiving her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Her research focuses on two main areas: (a) strategies for improving both short and long-term body weight regulation to reduce disease risks and (b) the development and translation of programs as alternatives to clinic-based care using digital and wearable technologies. She has been continuously funded in obesity, diabetes prevention and digital health intervention research by the National Institutes of Health since 2000 and is known internationally for her work in web and mobile interventions. Dr. Tate has numerous papers published in major nutrition and medical journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association, the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA-Internal Medicine, Obesity, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Health Psychology, and others. Dr. Tate is faculty director of the UNC Weight Research Program, and for the Communications for Health Applications and Interventions (CHAI) Core a shared resource serving faculty in both the Nutrition Obesity Research Center and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. She teaches a graduate-level course entitled “mHealth for Behavior Change”.
Dr. Tate conducted several of the first randomized trials using the Internet and new technologies to deliver behavioral treatments for obesity. She continues to conduct studies to determine which features of digital programs contribute to efficacy, how to use wearable and other passive data to inform tailoring, and what types of intervention messages and strategies work best for whom and in what contexts. Her work has focused on bringing greater specificity to digital intervention science and uses advanced intervention methodologies such as the Multiphase Optimization Strategy, multiple randomized trials (MRT) and adaptive (SMART) designs to optimize digital obesity prevention and treatment interventions. Her recent work has focused on precision public health messaging for just-in-time-adaptive interventions and precision nutrition and obesity approaches which offer high degrees of individual tailoring.
Don’t Miss Your Seat at NGx
NGx brings together forward-thinking minds at the intersection of nutrition, genetics, and health to explore where science is going next—and how it’s already shaping the way we understand and apply precision nutrition. This is more than a conference; it is a chance to engage directly with the research, the people behind it, and the ideas that are redefining the field.
Where Science Took Center Field
With more than 2,200 fans in attendance, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Atrium stadium became a place of discovery, featuring live demonstrations, hands-on STEM activities, and a community coming together around curiosity and learning. From liquid nitrogen launches to interactive science kits, the energy carried through every inning.
A New Approach to Nutrition, Centered on You
You may have heard the term “precision nutrition” before. But at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI), it is more than a concept, it is a shift in how we understand food, health, and the human body. While nutrition advice has traditionally followed a one-size-fits-all approach, NRI researchers are uncovering a far more complex reality, one where individuals can respond very differently to the same foods.
Advancing Precision Nutrition: NRI Research Featured at CWLC Conference
The UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) is proud to recognize an important milestone in the career of Blake Rushing, PhD, Assistant Professor of Nutrition. Rushing now leads his own research program, marking the beginning of a new chapter in his work at the NRI. His laboratory focuses on understanding how nutrient metabolism shapes cancer development and treatment response.