The Enrichment Program is an essential component of the UNC NORC. The activities of our Program are specifically designed to foster the exchange of knowledge and ideas among faculty members, trainees, research staff and the community at large. These activities span basic science, translational science, and nutrition and obesity relevant to community engagement and policy.

Previous Events

2022 Events

Student Research Symposium
Monday, April 18, 2022 @ 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST
Lower Atrium, Michael Hooker Research Center

Kymberly Gowdy, MS, PhD, “Dietary n3-PUFAs Modulate the Pulmonary Response to Environmental Exposures”
Associate Professor, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Ohio State University College of Medicine
Co-sponsored by the UNC NORC and the UNC Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility
Friday, February 25, 2022

Deborah Tate, PhD, “Behavioral Treatment of Obesity: Opportunities for Digital Health and Precision Public Health”
Professor, Departments of Health Behavior and Nutrition, UNC-CH
Director, CHAI Core; Director,UNC Weight Research Program
Thursday, February 10, 2022

Lamis Jomaa, PhD, “Food and Nutrition Security in the Era of Sustainability: Evidence from the MENA region”
Associate Professor, College of Health and Sciences, North Carolina Central University
Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut
Friday, February 4, 2022

2021 Events

Linda M. Collins PhD, “It’s About More Than Effectiveness: Optimization of Behavioral and Biobehavioral Interventions”
Professor of Global Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, New York University
Friday, November 5, 2021

Colin Orr, MD, MPH, “Food Insecurity and its Impact on Child Growth and Nutrition”
Assistant Professor, General Pediatrics, UNC School of Medicine
Friday, October 29, 2021

Morgana Mongraw-Chaffin, PhD, MPH, “Metabolically Healthy Obesity: Resilience or Just a Matter of Time?”
Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest School of Medicine
Friday, September 10, 2021

Heterogeneity in Obesity: Implications for Cancer and Related Obesity-Associated Outcomes
Interdisciplinary Nutrition Sciences Symposium
June 21-22, 2021
Virtual Symposium

Nutrigenetics, Nutrigenomics, and Precision Nutrition
6 virtual sessions: May 19 and 20, 26 and 27, and June 2 and 3, 2021
Virtual Short Course

Katie Meyer, ScD, “Trimethylamine N-oxide and Cardiometabolic Disease: Observational Studies”
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, UNC Nutrition Research Institute
Thursday, April 29, 2021

Precision Nutrition and Brain Health
April 15-16, 2021
Virtual Symposium

John Jakicic, PhD, “Physical Activity and Diet: Effectiveness and Opportunities for Obesity, Energy Balance, and Health”
Distinguished Professor and Director of the Healthy Life Institute, University of Pittsburgh
Tuesday, April 13, 2021

John A. Batsis, MD, “Treating Obesity in Older Adults: From Epidemiology to Innovative Therapies”
Associate Professor, Division of Geriatric Medicine, UNC – Chapel Hill
Friday, April 9, 2021

Delisha Stewart, PhD, “Identifying Drug Metabolism Genetic Impairments for Bypass to Improve Chemotherapeutic Efficacy”
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, UNC Nutrition Research Institute
Thursday, April 1, 2021

Tashara M. Leak, PhD, “Addressing the Impact of Racism and Poverty on the Nutritional Status and Health of Adolescents in Urban Communities”
Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences and Nutrition Research in Medicine, Cornell University
Friday, March 26, 2021

From Pilot Data to Federal Funding: Lessons from Pilot and Feasibility Program Award Winners
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Click here for the symposium program

K. Sean Kimbro, PhD, “Novel Interleukins Contribute to Lipid and Glucose Dysregulation in African Americans with Type 2 Diabetes”
Professor of Biological & Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University
Friday, March 5, 2021

Jamy Ard, MD, “Context is Everything: Designing Effective Treatment Strategies for Obesity”
Professor of Epidemiology and Prevention, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University
February 18, 2021

Susan Sumner, PhD, “The Concept of the Exposome in Precision Nutrition”
Professor of Nutrition, UNC Nutrition Research Institute
February 4, 2021

Arion Kennedy, PhD, “Uncovering Metabolic T cell Activation in Obesity Associated Diseases”
Assistant Professor of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, North Carolina State University
January 29, 2021

Fuad A. Iraqi, PhD, “Genetic Analysis of Diet and Oral Infection Effects on Promoting the Development of Metabolic Diseases and its Complications Using CC Mice”
Professor and Chair of Human Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University
January 28, 2021

Sandra Mooney, PhD, “Effect of Prenatal Environmental Insults on Health and Behavior Later in Life”
Associate Professor of Nutrition, UNC Nutrition Research Institute
January 14, 2021

2020 Seminars

Natalia Krupenko, PhD, “Folate Metabolism and Regulation of Cellular Processes”
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, UNC Nutrition Research Institute
December 10, 2020

Saroja Voruganti, PhD, “Altered Purine Metabolism and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: Modifying Effects of Nutrients and Genotypes”
Associate Professor of Nutrition, UNC Nutrition Research Institute
November 12, 2020

Nikki A. Ford, PhD, “The Avocado Nutrition Center: Working for a Quasi-Federal Organization”
Senior Director of Nutrition, Avocado Nutrition Center
November 6, 2020

John E. French, PhD, “Forward and Reverse Genetic Analysis of Metabolic Syndrome in a Mouse to Human Model”
Professor of Nutrition, UNC Nutrition Research Institute
November 5, 2020

Vickie Suggs-Jones, PhD, “What Are My Biases? Implicit Bias Inventory and Dialogue”
Diversity and Inclusion Strategist/Consultant, Diversity & HR Solutions, LLC
October 30, 2020

Stephen Hursting, PhD, MPH, “Breaking the Obesity-Cancer Link: New Targets and Strategies”
AICR/WCRF Distinguished Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Nutrition Research Institute
October 29, 2020

Sergey Krupenko, PhD, “Mechanistic and Metabolomic Underpinnings of ALDH1L1 Polymorphisms in the Regulation of Glycine Metabolism”
Professor of Nutrition, UNC Nutrition Research Institute
October 1, 2020

Matthew J. Flick, PhD, “Coagulation Factor-Driven Mechanisms of Obesity and Metabolic Inflammation”
Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UNC Chapel Hill
September 18, 2020

Ian Carroll, PhD, “Anorexia Nervosa-like Caloric Restriction Impedes the Generation of Intestinal Absorptive Cells by Altering Intestinal Stem Cell Activity and Microbiota Composition “
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill
February 21, 2020

Shu Wen Ng, PhD, “Creating Self-supportive Loops: Economic Approaches to Improve Food Offerings and Choices”
Distinguished Scholar in Public Health Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill
January 10, 2020

2019 Seminars

Folami Ideraabdullah, PhD, “Vitamin D and Developmental Programming”
Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Genetics, UNC Chapel Hill
November 22, 2019

Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD, “Achieving Benefits for Climate and Health through Food Systems Transformation”
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill
September 27, 2019

Grace E. Shearrer, PhD, “The Role of Insulin Resistance and Exercise on Age Related Cognitive Decline”
Assistant Professor of Nutrition
August 23, 2019

Richard Bazinet, PhD, “The Use of Compound Specific Isotope Analysis to Study Fatty Acid Metabolism in Rodents and Humans”
Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto
June 4, 2019

Martin Kohlmeier, MD, PhD, and Saroja Voruganti, PhD, “Scientific Rigor in Nutrigenomics Research”
Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill; Associate Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill
May 17, 2019

Laurianne Van Landeghem, PhD, “Enteric Glia: an Overlooked Component of the Colorectal Cancer Microenvironment”
Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine
May 3, 2019

Erik Karlsson, PhD, “Nham bay howie nov? (Have you eaten yet?): Nutrition and Emerging Infectious Diseases in Cambodia”
Senior Research Fellow, Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur in Cambodia
April 24, 2019

Kyle S. Burger, PhD, and Saame Raza Shaikh, PhD, “Why is Adherence to Best Practices in Nutritional Sciences Not Prioritized?”
Associate Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill; Associate Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill
March 15, 2019

Saame Raza Shaikh, PhD, and Saroja Voruganti, PhD, “Nutrition as a Relevant Key Variable in Biomedical Research”
Associate Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill; Associate Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill
February 21, 2019

Deborah Tate, PhD, and Kimberly Parker Truesdale, PhD, “CHAI Core and Potential Research Partnership”
Professor of Health Behavior and Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill; Associate Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill
January 18, 2019

Sandra Mooney, PhD, “Nutritional Interventions for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders”
Associate Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill
January 18, 2019

2018 Seminars

Sam Klein, MD, “Metabolically Normal and Abnormal Obesity”
William H. Danforth Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Science
Chief, Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
October 19, 2018

Donald A. McClain, MD, PhD, “Tissue Iron: Normal is not Optimal”
Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Wake Forest School of Medicine
October 5, 2018

Darrell Neufer, PhD, “Metabolic Disease from a Mitochondrial Bioenergetics Perspective”
Director, East Carolina Diabetes & Obesity Institute
Professor of Exercise and Sport Science and Physiology, East Carolina University
September 7, 2018

David D’Alessio, MD, “Building Better Beta-Cells: Effects of Bariatric Surgery on Insulin Secretion”
Professor of Medicine, Duke University
April 6, 2018

Laura E. Smith, PhD, “Multiple Mycotoxin Exposure and Child Growth in Zimbabwe: Preliminary Results from the Sanitation Hygiene Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) Trial”
Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Zimbabwe
March 2, 2018

2017 Seminars

Karen Corbin, PhD, “Gut Microbes and Human Health: Strategies for Building Translational Research Programs”
Investigator, Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes
October 26, 2017

2016 Seminars

Mirek Styblo, PhD
November 11, 2016

Carlos Monteiro, PhD, “The Global Shift to Ultra-Processed Foods: Health, Impact and Policy”
Professor of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
November 7, 2016

Claudia Fischbach-Teschl, PhD
September 19, 2016

Jason Locasale, PhD, “Glucose and Amino Acid Metabolism in Health and Cancer”
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University
September 9, 2016

Ian Carroll, PhD, “The Functional Impact of the Intestinal Microbiota on Host Physiology and Behavior: Implications for Therapy”
Assistant Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Herpetology, UNC Chapel Hill
The recorded seminar can be found at this link.
March 18, 2016

Donald A. McClain, MD, PhD, “Dietary Iron as a Risk Factor for Metabolic Disease”
Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Wake Forest School of Medicine
The recorded seminar can be found at this link.
March 11, 2016

Saroja Voruganti, PhD, “Sugars, Uric Acid, and Cardiometabolic Health”
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, UNC Chapel Hill
The recorded seminar can be found at this link.
February 12, 2016

2015 Seminars

Dr. Anthony Fodor
UNC-Charlotte Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics
December 11, 2015

Dr. Temitope Erinosho
UNC Department of Nutrition
October 9, 2015

Dr. Michelle A. Mende
UNC Department of Nutrition
August 28, 2015

Dr. Deb Tate
UNC Departments of Health Behavior & Nutrition
April 10, 2015

Dr. Stephen Hursting
UNC Department of Nutrition
March 20, 2015

Dr. Natalia Krupenko
UNC Department of Nutrition
February 13, 2015

Dr. Temitope O. Keku
UNC School of Medicine
January 9, 2015

2014 Seminars

Dr. Amanda Thompson
UNC Department of Anthropology
November 14, 2014

Dr. Melissa Troester
UNC Department of Epidemiology
October 3, 2014

Dr. Brian Bennett,
UNC Department of Nutrition
September 12, 2014

Dr. Liza Makowski
UNC Department of Nutrition
April 1, 2014

Dr. Matthew Longnecker
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
March 4, 2014

Dr. Melinda Beck
UNC Department of Nutrition
February 4, 2014

Dr. Kyle Burger
UNC Department of Nutrition
January 14, 2014