News
Our research not only influences the scientific community, but the general public as well. We strive to share our discoveries with everyone. Read some of our latest articles on what is happening at the Nutrition Research Institute.
Con-grad-u-lations, Julie Hasken!
Congratulations to Julie Hasken, the Nutrition Research Institute’s newest PhD! Julie earned her doctorate from the UNC Chapel Hill Department of Nutrition in 2021 and is now a postdoctoral research associate with Dr. Philip May. Julie joined the NRI in 2012 as a...
How the 1982 National Champion Tar Heels Inspired New NRI Director Stephen Hursting, PhD
Stephen Hursting, PhD, can still remember visiting Carolina for the first time before beginning his graduate studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. “I came on a beautiful, sunny spring day. It was 1982 and UNC had just won the [NCAA] National Championship on Michael Jordan’s...
A legacy of precision nutrition
By Amanda Wicks University Communications UNC-Chapel Hill Image by Robert Singh Photography Dr. Steven Zeisel will be stepping down as the UNC Nutrition Research Institute’s director after 13 years, but he leaves behind a legacy that has helped shape a more...
Incorporating genetic diversity into animal model studies of precision nutrition
One of the barriers to translating research results from pre-clinical to clinical is when positive results seen in animal models fail to be apparent in humans. Many early-stage studies use a single mouse strain. These mice are genetically homogeneous, and while this...
Nutrient Supplements as a Treatment for FASD
While the best defense against fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) remains avoiding alcohol consumption during pregnancy, research has shown that dietary choline supplementation can reduce at least some of the cognitive and behavioral problems associated with FASD...
Precision Nutrition and Brain Health Symposium
Our brains are built and supported by our mothers’ diets and then, by our diets. An individual’s response to incoming nutrition is programmed and very individualized. Maternal nutrition is important for fetal development even before conception: We now know that...
International MiBioGen consortium identifies genetic factors involved in shaping the composition of the human gut microbiome
Katie Meyer, ScD, is one of many UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) faculty members leading her field through innovative research. Recent technological advances are allowing researchers such as Meyer and her team to substantially broaden our knowledge of the human...
NRI Researchers Recognized at National Institutes of Health Precision Nutrition Workshop
UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) researchers were invited participants in the virtual Precision Nutrition: Research Gaps and Opportunities Workshop held by the National Institutes of Health (co-sponsors: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI),...
Embracing Life’s Detours: Faculty Focus with Delisha Stewart, PhD
On her journey to the UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI), Delisha Stewart, PhD, did not shy away from detours. In fact, she jokingly refers to herself as “the scientific nomad.” The key to life, she believes, is not being afraid to stray from the expected path...
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