How VIP Helps High School Students Imagine a Future in Science
NRI’s Virtual Internship Program helps high school students explore nutrition research, build science skills and imagine future STEM careers.
A Step Toward More Personalized Nutrition Guidance
A new NRI study led by Isis Trujillo-Gonzalez, PhD, explores whether blood markers can help show if someone is getting enough choline, an essential nutrient linked to brain, liver and cellular health.
Every Discovery Begins with a Participant
Every discovery begins with a question. But at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute, many discoveries also begin with a participant willing to say yes.
In this personal essay, Brooke Giles reflects on what it is like to experience NRI research from the participant side — and why taking part in a study can help advance science, support better health and contribute to discoveries that may benefit families, communities and future generations.
The Invisible Middle of Research
At the UNC Nutrition Research Institute, discovery does not happen in a single moment. Between the first research question and the final publication is the careful, often unseen work of planning, recruiting participants, gathering data, building teams, and refining ideas. This invisible middle is where science takes shape.
Whole Grain Study
Study Purpose: We want to invite you to participate in a research project to conduct a study to identify biomarkers of whole-grain corn intake through a pharmacokinetic (how a substance is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated by the body over time)...
Natalia Krupenko, PhD, and Stephen Hursting, PhD, named 2026 Excellence in Nutrition Fellows of the American Society for Nutrition
The UNC Nutrition Research Institute is proud to celebrate Natalia Krupenko, PhD, and Stephen Hursting, PhD, MPH, who have been named 2026 Excellence in Nutrition Fellows of the American Society for Nutrition.
The FASN designation recognizes distinguished members of ASN for their ongoing contributions to the field of nutrition and sustained engagement in the nutrition community. For Krupenko and Hursting, the honor reflects not only individual achievement, but also the long-term impact of research that is helping shape how scientists understand the relationship between nutrition, metabolism, chronic disease, and lifelong health.
The Making of a Scientist: Halle Meyers’s NRI Experience
Halle Meyer’s journey at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute began in 2020, when she joined the institute as a 21-year-old research technician in the lab of Sergey Krupenko, MD, PhD. Nearly six years later, she successfully defended her dissertation, earned her PhD in Nutrition from UNC-Chapel Hill, and leaves the NRI with not only scientific expertise, but a deep appreciation for the community and mentorship that shaped her along the way.