Nutrition T32 Training Faculty

The 25 participating faculty mentors for the Institutional Training Program in Nutrition represent a balanced mix of physician scientists and basic researchers and a balance of mid-career and senior investigators. The faculty conduct research over a wide spectrum, comprising cell and molecular science, clinical and behavioral research, epidemiology and community outreach. The areas of primary research interest and approaches represent 3 broad themes: 1) Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunction; 2) Nutrition and Eating Behavior; 3) Development and Life-course.

The following faculty bios provide synopses of participating faculty members' themes and research:

Faculty Mentor	Research Focus
Bryan Bergman, PhD Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Diabetes [email protected]	Impact of tissue-tissue communication in insulin sensitivity and steatotic liver disease in humans
Victoria A. Catenacci, MD Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Diabetes [email protected]	Novel dietary interventions to treat obesity and obesity related co-morbidities including time restricted eating and intermittent fasting paradigms
Ihuoma Eneli, MD, MS Professor of Pediatrics and Head, Section of Nutrition [email protected]	Pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes in youth and attrition in weight management programs
Stephanie Gilley, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition [email protected]	Impacts of high-fat diet after fetal growth restriction, iron concentration in infant formula, and predictors of rapid infant weight gain
Paul S. MacLean, PhD Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Diabetes; Director, CO NORC [email protected]	Biological mechanisms driving weight regain and obesity-related complications, with a focus on women's health, strategies for obesity prevention and treatment
Noel Mueller, PhD, MPH, FAHA Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition; Colorado School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology [email protected]	Identifying targets for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, including: obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and related cancers
Darleen Sandoval, PhD Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition [email protected]	The gut-brain axis's role in regulating body weight and metabolism, focusing on obesity and Type 2 diabetes using genetic models and metabolic phenotyping

Faculty Mentor	Research Focus
Joanne Cole, PhD Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics [email protected]	Large-scale human genomics and computational approaches to study eating behavior and metabolic disease
Meredith Fort, PhD, MPH Research Assistant Professor of Health Systems, Management & Policy, Colorado School of Public Health [email protected]	Community-based service delivery, focusing on family engagement in chronic disease management, health equity, and health systems in low-resource settings
Glenn T. Furuta, MD Professor of Pediatrics, The Arnold Silverman, MD Endowed Chair in Digestive Health, The La Cache Endowed Chair for Gastrointestinal, Allergic and Immunologic Disease and Head, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology [email protected]	Research on eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases, integrating basic, translational, and clinical studies to uncover disease mechanisms, identify biomarkers, and improve therapies and patient care
Matthew Haemer, MD, MPH Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition [email protected]	Implementation strategies to improve primary care delivery of childhood obesity prevention and treatment, especially among low-income Latino families
Susan L. Johnson, PhD, MS Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition [email protected]	Studying how family environments shape young children’s eating behaviors, food preferences, and growth, with a focus on early interventions and difficult-to-like foods.
Nancy F. Krebs, MD, MS Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition [email protected]	Maternal and infant nutrition, focusing on micronutrient metabolism, nutrient bioavailability, microbiome, and diet-related biomarkers influencing health outcomes
Maggie Stanislawski, PhD, MS Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics [email protected]	The role of the gut microbiome in obesity and cardiometabolic disease
Minghua Tang, PhD Associate Adjoint Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition; Associate Professor, Colorado State University [email protected]	How early dietary exposures, particularly protein sources during complementary feeding, influence infant growth, body composition, and microbiota development
Douglas Taren, PhD, MSc Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition [email protected]	Global research on maternal-child health, nutrition assessment, and food systems.
Darcy A. Thompson, MD, MPH Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition and Clinical Research Director, Colorado Child Health Research Institute (CCHRI) [email protected]	Early childhood obesity prevention in low-income Latino families, focusing on screen media use, using community-based research methods

Faculty Mentor	Research Focus
Kristen E. Boyle, PhD, MS Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition [email protected]	Impact of maternal health and environmental exposures on offspring metabolism using umbilical cord stem cells to model early adiposity and muscle development
Laura D. Brown, MD Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology [email protected]	Fetal muscle development and protein metabolism in intrauterine growth restriction and preterm infants, using large animal models, metabolomics, tracers
Dana M. Dabelea, MD, PhD Conrad M. Riley Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology, Associate Dean of Research, Colorado School of Public Health [email protected]	Maternal exposures, infant growth, and life-course influences on obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes development and prevention
Teri Hernandez, PhD, RN, FAAN Professor, Associate Dean of Research and Scholarship, College of Nursing [email protected]	Clinical research on nutrition and early life exposures to advancing understanding of in-utero programming and training future clinical investigators
Jayne Martin Carli, PhD, CLC Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Sciences [email protected]	Mechanisms underlying mammary function in women with low milk supply, which is associated with obesity and metabolic disease
Theresa L. Powell, PhD Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, and Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Sciences [email protected]	How the human placenta senses and responds to maternal nutrition and hormonal signals to regulate fetal growth, focusing on nutrient and ion transport
Paul J. Rozance, MD Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology and The Frederick C. Battaglia Endowed Chair in Neonatology [email protected]	Regulation of fetal growth by nutrients and hormonal with focus on intrauterine growth restriction and beta cell function.
Stephanie Wesolowski, PhD Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology [email protected]	How in utero conditions like growth restriction and hypoxia impact DNA methylation, hepatic glucose production, and insulin resistance.

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Nutrition T32 Training Faculty

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Nutrition T32 Training Faculty

Obesity & Metabolic Disease Researchers

Nutrition & Eating Behavior Researchers

Lifecourse & Development Researchers

Department of Pediatrics