Research & Discovery
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
Our scientists use a variety of research techniques and model systems to understand now nutrient metabolism influences health and disease, bridging virtually all of the sciences which study human biology (e.g. anatomy, biochemistry, epidemiology, genetics, etc.).
Our program resides within the University of Utah Health, which maintains outstanding core facilities and a robust Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Moreover, our faculty operates a Metabolic Research Kitchen, enabling researchers to conduct interventional diet studies on diverse disease outcomes.
Many of our faculty members maintain joint or adjunct appointments with the following:
PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS
- The first and most essential step in obtaining entry into the NUIP doctoral or master's program is identifying a faculty mentor. Students must ask prospective mentors for a letter of support that expresses a willingness to support the candidate’s research and stipend.
- Completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree in nutrition, physiology, or a related field in the health sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, etc.) and a strong interest in research, teaching, and service in the discipline.
- Completed all the required prerequisites.
- Submit a complete application via the FutureU portal by the December 1st deadline.
- Finally, candidates must be admitted by the Graduate School and the Department of Nutrition & Integrative Physiology.
The prerequisite course numbers provided are from the University of Utah. Equivalent courses from accredited institutions are accepted. To confirm course equivalency, contact our Director of Graduate Studies, Thunder Jalili, for a transcript review.
| REQUIRED | University of Utah Course | Topic | Credits |
| Biology | BIOL 1610 | Principles of Biology | 4 |
| BIOL 2420 | Human Physiology | 4 | |
| Chemistry | CHEM 1210+1215 | General Chemistry I + Lab | 4 + 1 |
| CHEM 1220 | General Chemistry II + Lab | 4 + 1 | |
| CHEM 2310+2315 | Organic Chemistry I + Lab | 4 + 1 | |
| CHEM 3510 | Biological Chemistry I | 3 | |
| Math | MATH 1050 | College Algebra | 4 |
| REQUIRED for Nutrition Emphasis | |||
| NUIP 1020 or NUIP 4440 | Introductory or Advanced Nutrition | 3 or 4 | |
| STRONGLY Recommended for all Programs | |||
| BIOL 2020 | Principles of Cell Biology | 3 | |
| CHEM 2320+2325 | Organic Chemistry II + Lab | 4 + 1 | |
| CHEM 3515 | Biological Chemistry Laboratory | 3 | |
| CHEM 3520 | Biological Chemistry II | 3 | |
| WRTG 2010 | Intermediate Writing: Research and Inquiry | 4 | |
- A minimum of 1 credit of chemistry lab is required.
- CHEM 3510 and NUIP 4440 MUST have been completed within the last five (5) years.
Students admitted lacking one or more prerequisites must complete them before matriculation. Please note that undergraduate courses do not count toward graduate credit hour requirements.
NUIP PhD program has a rolling admission process and will accept applications at any time for either Fall or Spring semester entry. To be guaranteed admission for the Fall semester, however, prospective students should submit a complete application prior to December 1st. Note, the application requires the inclusion of a letter from a prospective research mentor willing to supervise and support the student’s thesis research.
Applications are submitted using the Graduate School FutureU portal:
The Department of Nutrition & Integrative Physiology may provide a code to waive the application fee for applicants who provide us with a letter of support from an identified mentor explicitly expressing a willingness to support your research and stipend. Upload the letter to the "Additional Materials" section in the FutureU portal and email nutrition@health.utah.edu to receive the waiver code.
Faculty Mentors
NUIP FACULTY |
RESEARCH INTERESTS |
LABORATORY |
|---|---|---|
| NUIP PRIMARY FACULTY | ||
| Blackwood, Erik, PhD | Heart Failure, Cardiometabolic Disease, Atrial Myopathy, Cardiac Fibrosis, Inter-Organ Communication, Cardiokine Secretion, Cellular Proteostasis, ER Stress, Cardiac Metabolism, Gene Therapy | |
| Boudina, Sihem, PhD | Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, Insulin Resistance, Mitochondria | BOUDINA LAB |
| Chaix, Amandine, PhD | Circadian Rhythms, Circadian Clock, Dietary Interventions, Time-Restricted Feeding, Metabolism, Cardiometabolic Disease, Nutrient Sensing | CHAIX LAB |
| Funai, Katsu, PhD | Metabolism, Obesity, Mitochondria, Redox Biology, Lipid Biochemistry, Exercise, Muscle, Kidney Disease, Liver Disease, Cachexia, Weight Loss, Lipid Peroxidation | FUNAI LAB |
| Hicks, Kevin G., PhD | Metabolism, Metabolic Signaling and Regulation, Protein-Metabolite Interactions, Metabolic Networks, Enzymology, Metabolomics, Mass Spectrometry, Interactome Discovery Technologies | |
| Holland, William, PhD | Diabetes, Adiponectin, Metabolic disease, Sphingolipids, Ceramide, Insulin Resistance, Beta Cell Failure, Metabolism, Type 2 Diabetes, Mellitus, Adipose, Adipokines, Glucose, Inflammation, Nutrition, Metabolism, Translational Research, Glucagon, Appetite, Satiety, Obesity | HOLLAND LAB |
| Martin, Jim, PhD | Neuromuscular function, Biomechanics, Muscular power, Fatigue, Modeling | |
| Playdon, Mary, PhD, MPH | Diet, Nutrition, Metabolism, Metabolomics, Metabolic Disease, Nutrition and Cancer Epidemiology, Dietary Intervention Trials for Cancer Prevention and Control | |
| Pon Velayutham, Anandh, PhD | Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, Atherosclerosis, Vascular Disease, Dietary Flavonoids, Nutrition, Inflammation, Berry Anthocyanins, Gut Microbiome, Diet Derived Metabolites | |
| Richardson, Russ, PhD | Vascular biology, Muscle Metabolism, Aging, Age-Related Disease, and Mobility | UVRL |
| Stewart, Paul, PhD | Bioinformatics, Mass Spectrometry, Multi-Omics, Cancer, Tertiary Lymphoid Structures | |
| Summers, Scott, PhD | Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, Metabolic Disease, Sphingolipids, Ceramide, Insulin Resistance, Beta Cell Failure | SUMMERS LAB |
| Symons, J. David, PhD | Diabetes, Metabolic Disease, Atherosclerosis, Vascular Function, Blood Pressure, Endothelial Cell Metabolism, Autophagy, Aging, Sphingolipid Metabolism, Cell Biology, Signal Transduction, Exercise, Nutrition, Metabolism, Translational Research | |
| NUIP ADJUNCT FACULTY | ||
| Beddhu, Srinivasan, PhD | BEDDHU LAB | |
| Bernstein, Paul, MD, PhD | Ocular Nutrition, Carotenoids, Lipids, Noninvasive Nutritional Assessment, Global Health | BERNSTEIN LAB |
| Broxterman, Ryan, PhD | Integrative Physiology, Breast Cancer, Aging, Vascular Function, Oxidative Stress, Exercise, Oxygen Transport and Utilization, Blood Flow, Muscle Bioenergetics, Neuromuscular Function | UVRL |
| Bunsawat, Kanokwan, PhD | Arterial Stiffness, Endothelial Function, Microneurography, Kidney (Renal) Functions, Aging, Autonomic Nervous System, Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular Diseases, Regional Blood Flow, Exercise, Women's Health, Oxidative Stress, Vascular Biology | |
| Chan, Owen, PhD | CHAN LAB | |
| Coletta, Adriana, PhD, MS, RD | Exercise and Nutrition Interventions for Cancer Prevention and Control (e.g., after a cancer diagnosis but before treatment, during cancer treatment, after cancer treatment) | |
| Donato, Anthony, PhD | Aging, Arteries, Microcirculation, Atherosclerosis, Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, Genomic Instability, Novel Therapeutics | TVP LAB |
| Drakos, Stravros, PhD | Understanding the clinical, metabolic and molecular profile of the failing and recovering heart | DRAKOS LAB |
| Drummond, Micah, PhD | Aging, Muscle, Rehab, Protein, Inactivity, Exercise, Metabolism, Insulin Resistance, Atrophy, Hypertrophy, Cell Singaling, Clinical | DRUMMOND LAB |
| Harasymowicz, Natalia, PhD |
Immune Cells, Arthritis, Obesity | |
| Lai, Kent, PhD | Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEM), Therapeutic Development, Rare Diseases, Animal Models, Galactosemia, Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG), Infertility/Subfertility, Cerebellar Ataxia | PEDIATRICS LAI LAB |
| Lesniewski, Lisa, PhD | Aging, Obesity, Arteries, Atherosclerosis, Insulin Resistance, Inflammation | TVPLAB |
| Palatinus, Joseph, PhD | Gap Junction Trafficking, Connexin Biology, Sudden Cardiac Death, Mechanisms of Arrhythmias, Ischemia Reperfusion Injury, Cardiac Inflammation and Myocarditis | PALATINUS LAB |
| Rutter, Jared, PhD | Metabolic Control, Eukaryotic Mitochondrial, Cellular Behaviors, Metabolic Pathways | RUTTER LAB |
| Schlegel, Amnon, MD, PhD | Alpha Cell, Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, Energy Metabolism, Glucagon, Glucose, Metabolism, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Nutrition, Nutrition, Metabolism, Translational Research, Transcriptional Regulation | SCHLEGEL LAB |
| Shiu, Yan-Ting, PhD | Cardiovascular Disease, Vascular Dysfunctions in Patients with Diabetes and Metabolic Disorder, Hemodialysis Vascular Access, Exercise & Aging, Hypertension, Blood Flow | SHIU LAB |
| Trinity, Joel PhD | Exercise, Vascular Function, Inactivity, Hypertension, Aging, Mitochondria, Oxidative Stress, Blood Flow, Nitric Oxide, Muscle, Rehabilitation, Redox Balance, Long-term Complications of COVID | UVRL |
| Wray, D. Walter PhD | Vascular Function, Heart Failure, Hypertension, Exercise Physiology, Autonomic Physiology, Sympathetic Nervous System, Oxidative Stress, Nitric Oxide, Blood Flow Regulation, Rehabilitative Medicine | UVRL |
| Yang, Tianxin PhD | (Pro)renin receptor, The Distal Nephron, Hypertension, Kidney Disease, Diabetes | YANG LAB |
Note: The above faculty members may also serve as members of PhD committees
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