The Division of Nutritional Sciences hosts a weekly seminar series that is open to University of Illinois faculty and students, as well as the community. Each semester, the seminar series is organized around a research theme that is representative of the depth and breadth of research being conducted by faculty in DNS.

High profile researchers from other institutions are invited to speak during the seminar. They also spend time on campus meeting with DNS students and faculty, creating invaluable networking opportunities, and fostering exciting new research collaborations. The seminar series also highlights research conducted by DNS doctoral students.

Seminars

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Fall 2023

                                                                                                                                                                                                

  Title and Video Recording Speaker
  Willard J. and Priscilla F. Visek Lecture Penny Gordon-Larsen, PhD, Carla Smith Chamblee Distinguished Professor of Global Nutrition and Vice Chancellor for Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Title: Molecular Underpinnings of Heterogeneity in Obesity

 

 

Spring 2023

All seminars held in 150 ASL at 4:00 pm unless otherwise noted.

  Title and Video Recording Speaker
  Research projects at Liang laboratory Nu-Chu Liang, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Title: Research projects at Liang laboratory
  Characterizing Eating-Related Anxiety in Anorexia Nervosa Dr. Kimberly Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
  Endowed Awards Ceremony  
  Understanding the Nutritional Challenges of Food Insecure Cancer Survivors Amirah Burton-Obanla – Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Drs. Anna Arthur and Melissa Pflugh Prescott
  Storing Sugar in the Uterus: Glycogen Metabolism during Early Pregnancy Dr. Matthew Dean*, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  Neuroimmune study in the autoimmune disease Dr. Makoto Inoue*, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Comparative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  Hydration and Gut-Brain Axis Nate Willis – Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Dr. Naiman Khan
  RNA splicing in fatty liver disease: choose the alternative Dr. Auinash Kalsotra*, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  Evaluating oncogenic and metabolic pathways driving Estrogen Receptor Positive Breast Cancer Disparities Ashlie Santaliz Casiano – Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Dr. Zeynap Madak-Erodgan
  Use of dietary and pharmaceutical therapies to reduce weight and improve metabolism of a diet-induced obese (DIO) mouse model Yifei Kang – Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Dr. Kelly Swanson
  Using the RE-AIM Framework to Evaluate a Campus Food Pantry’s Potential Impact on Nutrition Security Ana Mitchell – Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Dr. Melissa Pflugh Prescott
  Chemicals and copulation: the impact of phthalates on reproductive behavior in mice Dr. Megan Mahoney*, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Comparative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  NSGSA Symposium  
  A Priori Dietary Patterns and Cancer-Related Outcomes Following Diagnosis of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) Christian Maino Vieytes – Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Drs. Anna Arthur and Zeynap Madak-Erdogan
  Roles of diet, other health behaviors and the gut-microbiome in executive functioning development during early life Arden McMath – Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Drs. Sharon Donovan and Naiman Khan

 

 

Fall 2022

Bile acids and gut microbiota impact nutrition and metabolism

Title and Video Recording     Speaker
Willard J. and Priscilla F. Visek Lecture    

David Moore, PhD, Professor and Chair, Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, University of California, Berkeley Title: Regulation of liver energy balance by nutrient sensing nuclear receptors

Bile acids and gut microbiota impact nutrition and metabolism     New Student Welcome and Spring Seminar Introduction
Sayee Anakk, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The impact of bile acid signaling on bariatric surgery success and complications    

Darleen Sandoval, PhD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Nutrition Section and Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes, University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Campus

Microbial bile acid conjugation as a new mechanism of host-microbiome crosstalk     Robert Quinn, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University
Tiny yet powerful - microbes and their potential for treatment of diseases    

Brad Schnabl, MD, Professor, Medicine in Gastroenterology, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Untangling chemical mediated conversations among plants, microbes, and insects     Esther Ndumi Dgumbi, PhD, Assistant Professor School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Towards a comprehensive characterization of bile acid transformation activity within the human gut microbiome     Daniel Amador-Noguez, PhD, Associate Professor Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The effect of maternal inflammation on offspring muscle development and immune function     Erin Bryan, Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Dr. Anna Dilger
Zebrafish as a model of effects of environmental exposures on the gut microbiome and human health     Christopher Gaulke, Department of Pathobiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

 

Spring 2022

Nutritional and Metabolic Immunology

Title and Video Recording Speaker
Nutritional and Metabolic Immunology Daniel McKim, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Endowed Student Awards Ceremony  
Somatic evolution of the hematopoietic system in cardiovascular disease Kamila Naxerova, PhD, Assistant Professor, Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
The protective roles of adipose resident macrophages in insulin resistance Partha Dutta, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh    
Neutrophils: The regulators of Inflammation in Cardiometabolic Diseases Prabhakara Nagareddy, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Leveraging cholesterol metabolism to promote an anti-tumor immune response Erik Nelson, PhD, Associate Professor, Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

Fall 2021

Nutrition Policy & Systems Approaches to Improve Diet Quality and Promote Health Equity

Title and Video Recording

Speaker

Nutrition Policy & Systems Approaches to Improve Diet Quality and Promote Health Equity

Melissa Prescott, PhD - Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

Make Every Bite Count with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Eve Stoody, PhD - Division Director, Nutrition Guidance and Analysis Division Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion | FNS United States Department of Agriculture and Janet de Jesus, MS, RD - Nutrition Advisor, Division of Prevention Science Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

Prioritizing Nutrition Security: An Overview of Emerging NIFA Activities

Sheila Fleischhacker, PhD - National Science Liaison, USDA NIFA

Strategies to Expand Healthy Food Retail in Underserved Areas of Illinois

Chelsea Singleton, PhD - Assistant Professor, Tulane University

Addressing diet-related health disparities through minimum wage policy

Caitlin Caspi, PhD - Associate Professor, University of Connecticut

Myriad Ways by Which Diabetes Impairs the Resolution of Atherosclerosis

Willard J. and Priscilla F. Visek Lecture
Edward A. Fisher, MD, PhD, MPH, Leon H. Charney Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Director of Marc and Ruti Bell Vascular Biology Program, Director of Translational Research, The Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, New York University School of Medicine

Brazilian Dietary Guidelines 

Maria Laura de Costa Louzada, PhD - Assistant Professor, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Moving Towards Health Equity in Champaign-Urbana 

Health Equality Panel

Restaurants and Community Nutrition: Bridging taste and health through collaboration

Melissa Fuster, PhD - Associate Professor, Tulane University

Isoquinoline alkaloids in diets fed to pigs

Carly Rundle – Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Dr. Hans Stein

Effect of spray dried plasma on nutrient digestibility, growth performance, and intestinal health in weaned pigs and sows

Hannah Bailey – Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Dr. Hans Stein

Advancing towards Health Equity: Extension programs and workforce 

Dr. Margarita Teran, MD, PhD – Assistant Dean for Integrated Health Disparities Programs, University of Illinois Extension, Assistant Professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

Spring 2021

Personalized Nutrition – Challenges and Opportunities

Title and Video Recording

Speaker

Personalized Nutrition –Challenges and Opportunities

Sharon Donovan, PhD – Professor and Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Health
Director, Personalized Nutrition Initiative
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), UIUC

Precision Nutrition and Cardiometabolic Traits

José Ordovás, PhD  – Professor of Nutrition and Genetics, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University and Lead Scientist and Senior Scientist, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Boston, MA

Precision Nutrition: Lessons from Studies on the Nutrient Choline

Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD – Professor, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Director, UNC Nutrition Research Institute, Kannapolis, NC

The Portfolio Diet for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: From Evidence to Guidelines to Practice

John Sievenpiper, MD, PhD – Associate Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Canada

Dr. Hindsight’s Guide to Commercializing Personal Nutrition: Lessons Learned from Launching and Selling Habit

Joshua C. Anthony – PhD, MBA, Founder and CEO, Nlumn, LLC, Princeton, NJ

Dietary interventions and strategies to reduce sodium consumption and volume overload in hemodialysis patients

Luis Perez - Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Dr. Kenneth Wilund

Precision Nutrition in the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan for NIH Nutrition Research

Holly Nicastro, PhD, MPH – Program Director, Precision Nutrition Research, NIDDK, NIH Challenges and Opportunities

Socio-Cultural Modeling in Health Sciences

Eunice Santos, PhD – Professor and Dean, School of Information Sciences (iSchool), UIUC

Biosensor Diagnostics: Transitioning from Personalized Medicine to Personalized Nutrition

Brian Cunningham, PhD – Intel Alumni Endowed Chair, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Bioengineering and Director, Center for Genomic Diagnostics, IGB, UIUC 

Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Krista Varady, PhD – Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois, Chicago

Effects of microbial phytase on calcium requirements, gastric pH, and phytate degradation in growing pigs
 

Vanessa Lagos - Nutritional Sciences Doctoral Candidate advised by Dr. Hans Stein

Data Analytics and Personalized Nutrition: Opportunities at Illinois
 

Saurabh Sinha, PhD – Founder Professor and Willett Faculty Scholar, Department of Computer Science, Cancer Center of Illinois, and IGB, UIUC