Dr. Aneja’s research examines how chronic stress, shaped by social determinants of health, manifests biologically and how holistic, non-pharmacological strategies such as breathwork can help reduce the impact of stress on health and wellbeing. Building on findings from a randomized controlled trial of SKY breathwork that demonstrated reductions in anxiety and improvements in cardiometabolic and inflammatory markers, her program is now testing breath-based, trauma-informed interventions in younger breast cancer survivors. This clinical trial is guided by a psycho-neuro-endocrine-immune (PNEI) framework that explores the connections between the mind, brain, hormones, and immune system. The research uses multimodal data, including psychosocial surveys, heart rate variability, inflammatory markers, and multi-omics profiling, and examines how psychosocial traits and self-reported experiences correlate with biological measures. The program also provides trainees with opportunities to develop skills in multisource data collection, analysis, and integration in mind-body medicine research. Ultimately, this work aims to transform survivorship care through science-based, accessible practices that enhance wellbeing and resilience.

Dr. Cedillo investigates how nutrition and psychosocial stress interact to influence metabolic health and chronic disease risk. Her research focuses on identifying biological and behavioral mechanisms that connect chronic stress, inflammation, and diet with insulin resistance and impaired glucose metabolism. In particular, she studies mitochondrial damage–associated molecular patterns (mtDAMPs) as novel stress-related biomarkers that may explain links between cellular stress and metabolic dysfunction. She is currently leading two pilot studies at UAB. Through the Diabetes Research Center, she is examining how dietary interventions affect mtDAMPs, insulin sensitivity, and glucose metabolism. In parallel, her Nutrition Obesity Research Center project evaluates the energy cost of chronic stress and its role in fat accumulation among adults experiencing high perceived stress. Together, this work advances our understanding of the pathways through which stress and nutrition influence metabolic health and the development of obesity-related diseases.

Dr. Chandler-Laney has dedicated over 15 years to maternal and child health research. Her primary focus is to understand the role of metabolic and behavioral mechanisms in the intergenerational transmission of obesity. She uses objective methods to assess body composition and metabolic health, including DXA, glucose tolerance tests, and indirect calorimetry. Dr. Chandler-Laney also serves as the director of the PhD program in nutrition sciences and teaches courses in applied research and scientific writing.

Dr. Davis’s research focuses on a range of nutrition-related topics, including dietary behaviors and perceptions surrounding GLP-1 receptor agonist use, nutrition practices among postpartum women, the eating habits of college students, and the implementation of nutrition policies in early care and education (ECE) settings. She plays a key role in the design and implementation of qualitative studies, contributing to data collection through interviews and focus groups and leading in-depth thematic analyses using NVivo software. Through this work, Dr. Davis ensures that participant experiences are systematically analyzed and meaningfully integrated into the development of nutrition interventions and policy recommendations, strengthening the relevance and impact of research in applied nutrition settings.

Dr. De Luca’s early research work focused largely on the genetics of aging. Over the past 15 years, she has expanded her research program to examine the role of genetics in obesity and its metabolic complications. Many lines of evidence suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in obesity/metabolic complications and aging. To this end, one area of current research in her laboratory focuses on identifying novel genetic mechanisms contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction. A second area of research focuses on the role played by the cell-surface proteoglycan syndecan-4 in fat tissue remodeling, inflammation, and systemic metabolic dysfunction.

Dr. Ferguson’s research focuses on patient-centered observational and clinical nutrition research to address symptoms and metabolic effects of Parkinson's disease and the development and implementation of effective interventions to improve the health of adults with physical disabilities. The Ferguson lab uses body composition assessments (e.g., DXA, BIA), dietary assessments (FFQ, 24-hour recall, logs, etc.), handgrip dynamometry, adapted exercise testing, the Movement Disorders Society Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), and qualitative interviews in its studies.

Dr. Garvey has achieved international recognition for his research involving the metabolic, molecular, and genetic pathogenesis of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. The Garvey laboratory has been a principal contributor to our understanding of the glucose transport system and glucose transporter proteins in human insulin resistance and has also elucidated the roles of adiponectin, NR4A orphan nuclear receptors, and the tribbles gene family. A further interest concerns the understanding of obesity as a disease and advancing medical models to improve care of patients with obesity. Dr Garvey has co-authored multiple guidelines and position statements regarding the care of patients with obesity and diabetes on behalf of professional organizations and has helped address the rational use of newer second-generation obesity medications within the context of a complications-centric approach to care. Dr. Garvey currently is actively conducting clinical trials evaluating new medications for obesity and diabetes. He is available to provide advice for trainees and for co-mentorship.

Dr. Goss’s research aims to identify effective, sustainable, and non-invasive dietary means of preventing and reversing diseases with metabolic origins. She has expertise in conducting randomized clinical trials to examine the effects of diet quality and macronutrient composition on risk factors of chronic metabolic diseases such as obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Goss specializes in MRI and MRS techniques for the assessment of fat distribution and organ lipid content in adult and pediatric populations. She recently conducted studies using a family-based, controlled feeding experimental design to improve outcomes in children with NAFLD and is currently principal investigator on the Sunshine Study, which is investigating whether changes in diet composition affect various health outcomes in adolescents with NAFLD.

Dr. Gower’s research focuses on the interplay between diet, endocrinology, and metabolism and their relation to chronic metabolic disease, with expertise in evaluation of body composition, body fat distribution, insulin sensitivity, and beta-cell function. Her ongoing funded research includes “Nutrition for Precision Health,” a multisite consortium study designed to understand individual differences in response to diet, and “Predictors of Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes” (the DISCOVERY study), which is designed to identify factors that predict conversion to type 2 diabetes among at-risk youth.

Dr. Hill’s research focuses on factors that impact the etiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes and that contribute to strategies to reduce these diseases. He is particularly interested in factors that affect weight-loss maintenance. Recently, he has been working with researchers with interests in modifying health behaviors. Sustaining behavior change is a major challenge in addressing obesity. They recently developed a new model for behavior change (the Maintain IT model) and have successfully used this model to increase success in weight management. He understands the complexity of body weight regulation and has studied how physiological, behavioral, and environmental factors influence obesity and body weight regulation.

My current research interests include factors that influence the decision to be physically active and reduce weight gain. I have become especially interested in factors that influence ease and economy during locomotion, especially the use of muscle/tendon elasticity in producing stretch shortening cycle potentiation. Although, generally thought to be important only for athletic performance, we have shown that it influences free-living physical activity even in older adults and that exercise training can improve stretch shortening cycle potentiation. I am also interested in how to improve quality of life of older adults and cancer survivors.

Dr. Martins’ research aims to better understand the role of energy metabolism and appetite control in obesity and how different weight loss interventions can modulate these outcomes through changes in our endocrine system. Over the past 15 years, she has conducted studies on the role of diet, exercise, and bariatric surgery on appetite regulation and energy metabolism, trying to better understand relapse in obesity management. Her lab has shown that the increased drive to eat and reduced energy expenditure seen in the reduced-obese state, including metabolic adaptation, are a normalization toward a lower body weight and not drivers of relapse. Her studies use sophisticated methods of body composition (e.g., DXA, BodPod), energy expenditure (e.g., indirect calorimetry, room calorimetry), and biochemical assays (ghrelin, GLP-1, PYY, insulin) to examine the impact of different dietary interventions on human metabolism.

Dr. Moellering’s collaborative research interests support accumulating evidence that many chronic diseases involve mitochondrial dysfunction, retrograde redox mitochondrial signaling, and free radical–mediated tissue injury (oxidative stress and inflammation). His research focus includes energy metabolism, mitochondrial physiology, redox biology, exercise and nutrition, and psychosocial life stress and their contributions to health and wellness, health disparities, cardiometabolic disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and aging. Model systems include in vitro cell culture, yeast, Drosophila melanogaster, rodents, fish, and human translational research. One of his current projects involves investigating the adverse effects of life stress, including discrimination, and dietary choices that may contribute to increased levels of oxidative stress, cardiometabolic disease risk, and obesity.

Dr. Pearson’s research focuses on two main areas: improving nutrition care for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and examining how dietary patterns influence long-term health at the population level. Much of his current work centers on developing educational and collaborative opportunities to support dietitians in providing high-quality nutrition care for individuals with ALS. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, he aims to identify strategies that improve patient outcomes and equip dietitians with tools for practice. In addition, Dr. Pearson works with nutrition data from prospective cohort studies to investigate links between diet and cardiometabolic disease, with an emphasis on dietary patterns and chronic disease risk.

Dr. Plaisance’s research program focuses on the effects of dietary interventions on components of energy balance, body composition, and metabolic health as they relate to the regulation and maintenance of body weight and adiposity. Dr. Plaisance’s studies have focused on interrogating the physiologic and molecular mechanisms by which ketones (derived from partially oxidized fatty acids in the liver) and ketone precursors regulate energy balance and metabolism. Other studies from the lab have attempted to leverage the anti-inflammatory effects of ketones in individuals with prediabetes and cystic fibrosis. In a clinical trial, administration of exogenous ketones to adults with cystic fibrosis produced significant reductions in sputum markers of inflammation and improved subjective perception of breathing. Dr. Plaisance is also exploring the potential of ketones as alternative energy sources in the brain and heart to examine the metabolic implications of ketones in individuals with cognitive dysfunction and heart failure.

Dr. Smith’s research interests include the influence of nutrition and metabolism on aging and disease, with an emphasis on the opposing nutrition paradigms of calorie restriction and over-nutrition/obesity. His studies incorporate multiple model organisms including budding yeast, worms, flies, zebrafish, mice, rats, and humans. Of particular interest are calorie restriction mimetics, compounds proposed to mimic the cellular and physiologic benefits of calorie restriction without requiring actual nutritional intake reductions. The cohesive thread through his research is to understand the impact and causation of nutrition and metabolism on aging and disease to identify interventions to optimize human health, well-being, and longevity.

Dr. Whyte studies energy balance and metabolic phenotyping using whole-room indirect calorimetry, stable isotope tracers, and controlled feeding trials/lifestyle interventions. She directs the department’s calorimetry lab to advance precision nutrition and translate metabolic insights into tailored strategies for obesity prevention and treatment.