Research in Nutritional Sciences
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Alex Kojo Anderson
Professor
My research focuses on the nutrition of women and infants, infant and young child feeding, breastfeeding promotion and protection, growth of infants and children, body composition of infants, children and pregnant women, as well as community and international interventions for nutrition and health. I have expertise in both qualitative, quantitative and nutritional research methods. I am currently involved in a multi-site research project evaluating parental practices supporting positive eating behaviors during independent eating occassions among early adolescent children. I am also in the early stages of a collaborative study examining barriers to healthy weight management among women of childbearing age in Ghana. With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation we begun a new project as part of a consortium to develop and use technology for dietary assessment in low- and middle-income countries. The focus of this Gates Foundation funded project is to validate passive technologies for the passive dietary assessment. This project is currently ongoing in Ghana. For more information, see the Maternal and Child Nutrition Laboratory.
Conducting breastfeeding needs assessment in the Athens-Clarke and surrounding counties
I am examining barriers to healthy weight management among women of childbearing age in Ghana.
As part of the Innovative Passive Dietary Monitoring System Project, we are currently conducting field studies to validate the effectiveness of the Automatic Ingestion Monitoring (AIM) device, eButton, eHat and the FoodCAM for dietary assessment and nutrient analysis in Ghana.
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Alison Berg
Associate Professor and Extension Nutrition and Health Specialist
Alison's current research involves evaluating community Extension education programs to improve nutrition behavior for the prevention and management of chronic disease, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Another emphasis of her work is translational research to study the implementation of evidence-based interventions, including the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) through the Cooperative Extension model.
Our research falls under the umbrella of exploring the effectiveness of the Extension model to enhance knowledge and facilitate healthy behavior change across the lifespan. Specifically, we focus on the impact of UGA Extension's Cooking for a Lifetime of Cancer Prevention on cancer preventive lifestyle behaviors and screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer among urban and rural Georgians and exploring the relationship of program implementation factors on outcomes. Newer research includes exploring the feasibility and acceptability of the National Diabetes Prevention Program in UGA Extension and the impact on diet quality, physical activity, and physical function among middle-aged and older participants, and the relationship of health insurance status and preventative care behaviors on participant outcomes.
Dissertation project: Psychological Constructs, Measures of Adiposity and Weight Loss Following Intervention in Older Women
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Caree Cotwright
Associate Professor
Childhood Obesity Prevention in schools and child care settings, Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policy, Theater Based Nutrition Intervention
My research agenda focuses on promoting wellness best practices and policies in the ECE setting. The aim of my work is to: 1) assess current wellness practices in the ECE setting; 2) create training and interventions for child care providers and child care food service staff to increase healthy eating, wellness education, and physical activity in the ECE setting; and 3) assist ECE settings with creating wellness policies and plans of action to sustain changes long term. The overall goal of my work is to create healthy ECE environments to prevent obesity in our youngest children ages (0-5), while working to decrease health disparities among low-income and minority populations.
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Ginnefer Cox
Associate Professor
Dr. Cox’s research interests include sensory evaluation and product development, with an emphasis on ingredient reduction (sodium, fat, sugar) and utilizing functional ingredients and value-added foods. For more information, see the Sensory Evaluation and Product Development Laboratory.
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Sina Gallo
Associate Professor
Maternal and infant nutrition is related to child growth and later health as an adult. Hence, Dr. Gallo's research focuses on nutrition during the critical periods of development, from pregnancy to childhood. She has conducted seminal work on infant vitamin D requirements and continues to explore adherence and the appropriateness of current vitamin D recommendations for bone development. She is also interested in the diets of young children and how these relate to healthy growth. She works with vulnerable populations including those participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). For more information see the Child Diet and Health Disparities Lab.
- Optimal Vitamin D for Maternal and Infant Health: This work explores adherence with current infant vitamin D policies and requirements. We are also exploring predictors and health outcomes associated with maternal vitamin D status.
- "What Children Eat" Studying Children's Diet Recall Accuracy: This work focuses on improving the accuracy of dietary recalls among elementary school-aged children, through exploring the effects of age, body mass index, and race/ethnicity.
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Improving Access to Prenatal/Postpartum Nutrition: Receiving proper nutrition before, during and after pregnancy can improve both mother and offspring health. We are gathering information into the gaps in prenatal nutrition education as well lactation support in rural Georgia which will inform future community intervention/s.
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Silvia Giraudo
Associate Professor
Dr. Giraudo researches in the area of Community Nutrition. Her areas of interest are in the field of Childhood Obesity in the State of Georgia. Through the Evaluation of Cooperative Extension Nutrition education programs geared to obesity and weight management and the training of students to conduct community research with Extension, to develop nutrition intervention programs to better address the needs of the community, especially to design childhood obesity interventions while working in Extension in the state of Georgia.
Her future interest is to address the Nutrition Education needs of the Hispanic Community.
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Arthur Grider
Associate Professor
My research focuses on the impact of zinc on changes in micro-RNAs, a potential innovative biomarker for zinc status, to ensure adequate intake associated with optimal health. I am also interested in cellular and tissue zinc metabolism, and the role zinc plays in altering protein levels in tissue samples.
My current research involves the use of bioinformatic and transcriptomic analyses to determine the effects of zinc on the regulation of small, non-coding RNA transcription. i am particularly interested in determining the mechanisms for controlling zinc-dependent osteogenesis by zinc through its interactions with the metal transcription factor-1/metal regulatory element complex and osteogenic signaling pathways.
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Sarah Henes
Assistant Professor, Extension Nutrition Specialist/UGA EFNEP State Coordinator
As State Coordinator for UGA EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program) my work focuses on both adult and youth community nutrition education, program evaluation, and community-based participatory research with limited resource families, pregnant women and teens, and youth (9th-12th grade). My research and programming also involves collaborating with other Extension and Department colleagues (SNAP-Ed, 4H), and developing a variety of community partnerships throughout the state for nutrition, health, and wellness.
Other areas of research include family based weight management interventions and utilizing my clinical and community nutrition background to develop programs and interventions for youth with overweight and obesity and their families, particularly in underserved populations. My research program also focuses on translating the science of energy balance and metabolism into the community and clinical setting not only through nutrition assessment. but in nutrition education so as to help all youth and their families learn nutrition concepts while also promoting dietary and nutrition/health behavior change
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Emma Laing
Clinical Professor and Director of Dietetics
My research centers on the efficacy of weight-inclusive approaches to improve health and well-being. My courses likewise challenge diet culture and incorporate the deleterious effects of weight stigma on health. I also have decades of experience using imaging techniques for assessment of bone and body composition and employing dietary and physical activity interventions to reduce the risk of chronic disease, including osteoporosis.
In the News
View all media appearances on Emma Laing's Press Page
Featured articles:
- Body Image: What It Is and How to Improve It, VeryWell Fit
- Green tea may just be the world's healthiest drink, Men's Health
- Professor challenges students on diet culture, UGA Today
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Jung Sun Lee
Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Family and Consumer Sciences; Faculty of Gerontology
My research examines nutritional health issues in low-income population with a focus on food insecurity, food environments, healthcare utilization, program evaluation of community-based nutrition interventions, and nutrition policy. My research uses multidisciplinary approaches, and both quantitative and qualitative research methods. I have been conducting studies to better understand the extent and nature of food insecurity, to improve the capacity of food and nutrition assistance programs, and to establish research methodology and datasets to examine the nutrition issues in human services including aging services, healthcare, and public assistance to meet the needs of low-income Georgians. For more information about my research and the UGA SNAP-Ed project, visit the Community Nutrition Laboratory.
Since I joined the University of Georgia (UGA), I have developed the Georgia Advanced Performance Outcomes Measures Project (GA Advanced POMP) which is the first study to test the feasibility of innovative research methods to improve program evaluation as part of administrative processes based on the partnership between GA Aging Services Network and UGA. I have led the Georgia CAFE (Community Advocacy to Access Food Stamps for the Elderly and Disabled) project since 2011, the first-ever SNAP application assistance model in Georgia to enhance coordination, access, and participation in SNAP for low-income older Georgians based on collaborations among the UGA, the Georgia Legal Services Program, and Georgia Division of Family and Children Services in around 30 urban and rural counties in Georgia. I have also established the UGA SNAP-Ed project, which provides an evidence-based, culturally tailored, multi-level nutrition education and obesity prevention intervention to SNAP-Ed eligible adult Georgian population using existing/augmented network and practice of the UGA Cooperative Extension Services (CES) since 2013. I have conducted the Georgia Hunger Study in 2023, a statewide needs assessment of the charitable food assistance network based on a partnership among UGA, Feeding Georgia, Geoergia Food Bank Associations, UGA Extension, and GA DHS. This study intended to understand barriers and challenges in food access among low-income Georgians using mixed methods.
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Emily Noble
Associate Professor
Dr. Noble's research uses rodent models to investigate how the brain controls feeding behavior and energy balance. Our research also investigates the mechanisms by which nutrition affects the brain and cognitive function. Visit the Nutritional Neuroscience Laboratory or noblelab-uga.com/ to learn more.
Current research topics in include:
Determining signaling pathways in the brain that regulate eating and drinking behaviors
Understanding how the brain regulates body weight and underlying causes of obesity
Determining the mechanistic impact of consuming a Western Diet (high fat and high sugar) on learning and memory function
Investigating the impact of adolescent nutrition on brain development and behavior
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Michelle Parisi
Associate Professor and Extension Chronic Disease Prevention and Self-Management Specialist
Research Area and Interests:
Dissemination and implementation of health and nutrition programs and initiatives through an Extension model; Food system as a social determinant of health and food insecurity in rural communities- Parisi, M and Sherrill, W. 2023. “Health Extension for Diabetes: Georgia”. A Strategic Approach to Advancing Health Equity for Priority Populations with or at Risk for Diabetes. Centers for Disease Control. $269,000.
- Parisi, M. 2023. “Health and Mental Health Needs of Rural Veterans”. USDVA-Office of Rural Health. $150,000.
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Hea Jin Park
Associate Professor
My research focuses on defining the beneficial role of bioactive food compounds and functional foods in human health and on investigating their mechanisms of action in chronic diseases and perinatal development. For more information, see the Bioactive Compounds and Health Laboratory.
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Chad Paton
Associate Professor
My research is focused on the bioactive properties of two specific lipids: Dihydrosterculic acid (DHSA) and linoleic acid. DHSA is a cyclopropene fatty acid that is found naturally in cottonseed oil and it blocks endogenous lipid synthesis and cholesterol biogenesis. I am actively pursuing methods to assess its ability to treat hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia in animal and human models. My work in the bioactive properties of linoleic acid has centered on its role in modulating skeletal muscle myogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis. As a long-chain omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, it promotes transcriptional activity via nuclear receptor-DNA interactions and more recently I have found that its ability to induce angiopoietin-like protein 4 production in muscle significantly impairs the capacity for muscle differentiation and metabolic function. The purpose of my research is to help restore normal metabolic function in disease states using molecular biology and biochemistry to understand how macronutrient metabolism is regulated in cell and animal models. For more information, visit the Biochemistry of Metabolism Laboratory.
- PUFA-mediated regulation of myogenesis.
- The role of dihydrosterculic acid in hepatic lipid metabolism.
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Robert Pazdro
Associate Professor
My research group is working to improve the human experience by eliminating the burdens of chronic medical conditions, such as liver disease and heart failure. We focus on two risk factors long considered to be fixed and unmodifiable – genetics and age – and how they impact disease development, with emphases on metabolism, hormone activity, and organ structure and function. Through our work, we are contributing to the future of personalized medicine and discovering the next generation of exciting therapeutic targets to treat chronic diseases, restore health, and vastly improve lives.
For more information, see the Complex Diseases Laboratory.
Our current research projects include:
R01 GM121551 NIH/NIGMS Defining the Genetic Architecture of the Glutathione Redox System; Role: Principal Investigator.
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Connie Rogers
Professor and Department Head, Bill and June Flatt Professor of Nutritional Sciences
My laboratory is exploring the role of changes in energy balance, (i.e. obesity, exercise and dietary restriction) and various nutritional interventions on inflammatory mediators, metabolic hormones, and immune pathway in breast cancer using both animal models and human subjects. A second focus area of my laboratory is to explore if and how several nutritional factors modulate inflammatory and immune responses in humans at risk of cardiometabolic disease and osteoporosis.
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Elisabeth Lilian Pia Sattler
Assistant Professor
Dr. Sattler a licensed pharmacist with a PhD in Foods and Nutrition who leads an interdisciplinary, extramurally-funded research laboratory that (1) investigates the epidemiology of lifestyle-related cardiovascular disease risk factors, and (2) tests the effect of clinical nutrition interventions on cardiovascular disease outcomes. The overarching goal of her research is to generate evidence that supports strategies for improved cardiovascular disease prevention and management for the benefit of at-risk populations, for whom medical care is limited or less accessible, including minorities, those of lower socioeconomic status, and individuals with advanced cardiovascular disease or multimorbidity. Dr. Sattler has established a national reputation in cardiovascular health research, as evidenced by over $800K obtained in extramural funding, numerous research conference presentation and moderation invitations, invited talks, honors to serve in national leadership roles at the American Heart Association, invitations to scientific statement writing groups, and the receipt of national and international research fellowships.
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Carla Schwan
Assistant Professor and Extension Food Safety Specialist
Research interests include consumer food safety, home food preservation, and antimicrobial resistance.
Schwan Research and Extension Lab focus on addressing emerging topics on home food preservation and consumer food safety. Current projects include an Extension Food Safety Program to Facilitate Enhanced Food and Health Sovereignty in the State of Georgia and the development of new validated home food preservation recipes.