Steven H. Zeisel, MD, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Nutrition and Pediatrics
steven_zeisel@unc.edu
704-250-5003
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As the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) grows and more scientists and administrators move to Kannapolis, there is one face that has been here since the beginning. Founding NRI Director Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD, was a leader in this innovative venture before the first shovel hit the dirt. From the start, Zeisel was involved in building the dream of the NCRC, including its unique mission, novel approach to research, and distinguished team. Not only has he played an integral role alongside David H. Murdock in developing the vision of the Campus, he has also led the charge to seek scientific synergy between the best minds in nutrition research, through collaboration with the other NCRC organizations.
Under Zeisel’s leadership, this collaboration is the defining hallmark that will revolutionize the field of nutrition worldwide. Zeisel’s passion for the science of nutrition is evident throughout his distinguished career. He initially attended medical school at Harvard and completed his residency in pediatrics at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He earned his PhD in Nutrition from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979.
After rising to the rank of professor at Boston University’s School of Medicine, Zeisel joined UNC-Chapel Hill’s faculty in 1990, becoming professor and chair of the UNC Department of Nutrition (the first department of nutrition in the country in both a school of public health and a medical school). In 1999, he was named Associate Dean of Research for the UNC School of Public Health. Later he began directing UNC’s Clinical Nutrition Research Unit (now called the UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center). Subsequently, he was named a Kenan Distinguished University Professor of Nutrition & Pediatrics at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and at the UNC School of Medicine in 2005.
Show MoreWhat’s Essential for the Prenatal Brain?
October 25, 2017 – An interview with Steven H. Zeisel, MD, PhD, Kenan Distinguished University Professor of Nutrition and Pediatrics, and Director, UNC Nutrition Research Institute, Kannapolis, NC.
“In science, 10 percent of successful scientific discovery is the result of skill and hard work – but 90 percent comes from asking the right question. During my graduate training, I was very lucky to ask the right question. I wondered where the choline in acetylcholine comes from. Acetylcholine is an organic chemical that serves as a neurotransmitter – it’s released by nerve cells and sends signals to other cells, such as in muscles. At the time, all the textbooks stated that people could make their own supply of this nutrient in the liver and did not need to obtain it through food. I knew that this was not true for rats, mice and dogs, and I doubted it was true for people.
Precision Nutrition Needed for Healthy Military Muscles
July 27, 2017 • “Eat colorful meals and make sure you get enough choline.” That’s the key advice offered by David Nieman, Dr.PH, FACSM, Director of the Appalachian State University Human Performance Laboratory; and Steven Zeisel, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Nutrition Research Institute. during lunch at the Medical, BioMedical & BioDefense: Support the Warfighter symposium in Chapel Hill in June. These were among several surprising findings […]
Choline Biomarker Study Call for Participants
August 28, 2017 – The Zeisel Lab at the NRI is recruiting participants for a clinical study on the essential nutrient choline. The lab needs healthy females and males between the ages of 17 and 70 to take part in a six-week study. Participants will be asked to provide blood samples and will eat meals provided by the NRI during the course of the study. “Healthy” means normal body weight, and no smoking, drug abuse, unusual diets, allergy to soy, or chronic diseases. All qualifying participants will be paid when they complete the study.
You Can Help Advance Our Science
July 27, 2017 – The Zeisel Lab at the NRI is recruiting participants for a clinical study on the essential nutrient choline. The lab needs healthy females and males between the ages of 17 and 70 to take part in a six-week study. Participants will be asked to provide blood samples and will eat meals provided by the NRI during the course of the study. “Healthy” means normal body weight, and no smoking, drug abuse, unusual diets, allergy to soy, or chronic diseases. All qualifying participants will be paid when they complete the study.
2020 Publications
2019 Publications
2018 Publications
2017 Publications
Contribution of Dietary Supplements to Nutritional Adequacy in Various Adult Age Groups.
Trimethylamine N-Oxide, the Microbiome, and Heart and Kidney Disease.
Reduced brain volume and impaired memory in betaine homocysteine S-methyltransferase knockout mice.
Astronaut ophthalmic syndrome.
Choline, Other Methyl-Donors and Epigenetics.