sergey_krupenko@unc.edu
704-250-5053
Sergey A. Krupenko, PhD
Professor of Nutrition
Sergey A. Krupenko, PhD, joined the UNC Nutrition Research Institute in 2014. Dr. Krupenko’s research focuses on vitamin folate and its role in liver function and cancer disease. His goal is to understand how we can fight cancer by controlling the diet and nutrient supplements. “There are molecular strings in the human organism, which can be pulled by the right combinations of nutrients to activate resistance to tumor formation or to slow down cancer development. We have to identify these links and make them work,” he said. Dr. Krupenko has received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry from Byelorussian State University and a PhD in Biochemistry at the Byelorussian Academy of Sciences. Before joining the NRI, he was a faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina. He has a joint appointment as a Professor of Nutrition at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC-Chapel Hill.
Sergey A. Krupenko, PhD, joined the UNC Nutrition Research Institute in 2014. Dr. Krupenko’s research focuses on vitamin folate and its role in liver function and cancer disease. His goal is to understand how we can fight cancer by controlling the diet and nutrient supplements.
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In the News
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.
How Nutrition Impacts Liver Cancer & Alzheimer’s: New Research at the NRI
Amira Abdellatef, PhD, and Isis Trujillo-Gonzalez, PhD, of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute have been awarded a Pilot and Feasibility Program grant from SPLENDOR-NC. This award provides funding to early-career scientists to support research that advances...
Publications
2025
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
The Role of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Function of Candidate Tumor Suppressor ALDH1L1.
Cytosolic 10-formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase regulates glycine metabolism in mouse liver.
Deleterious mutations in ALDH1L2 suggest a novel cause for neuro-ichthyotic syndrome.
Loss of ALDH1L1 folate enzyme confers a selective metabolic advantage for tumor progression.