Rapidly escalating health care costs, rates of obesity, and diet-related diseases are issues of highest national concern. We need a systematic and multidisciplinary approach to understanding the role of healthy foods and lifestyle in preventing, mitigating, or treating obesity and chronic diseases, including diabetes, arthritis, and certain cancers.

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Our areas of scientific focus are:

• Investigating the potential of nutritional genomics in personalized prevention or delay of onset of disease and in maintenance and improvement of health

 

• Identifying and assessing new and more effective nutrient delivery systems for micronutrients and antioxidants

 

• Identifying, characterizing, and determining optimal serving size and frequency of intake for health benefits of the consumption of specific foods containing bioactive constituents

 

• Developing community-based participatory methods that identify priority areas within communities, including built environments, that encourage social interaction, physical activity, and access to healthy foods— especially fruits and vegetables—and that can best prevent obesity in children and weight gain in adults

 

• Understanding factors, including biological and psychological stresses, that contribute to chronic diseases and the aging processes