Neurobehavioral
Nutrition Lab

In the Neurobehavioral Nutrition Lab, we focus on conducting nutrition intervention clinical trials to promote mental health, cognition, cardiometabolic health, and to reduce the severity of disordered eating.

We also have a focus on neurobiology. Why? Because there is a discrepancy between what we know we should do and what we actually do. Why is it, that we know we should eat vegetables every day but perhaps we don’t? Why is it that we may drink copious amounts of alcohol every day even though we know it is not good for us? Dr. Stephanie Caligiuri, the head of the Neurobehavioral Nutrition lab, ponders this every day; a question we strive to answer through our research to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition interventions.

We believe that in order for nutrition interventions to be truly successful, we must consider the individual and the neurobiology behind their behavior. The goal of the lab is to use Behavioral Neuroendocrinology to understand our eating behaviors and to use that to our advantage to promote mental health and cardiometabolic health. We utilize advanced techniques such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), biosensors, and metabolomics. These methods allow us to assess brain region activity, physiological responses, and metabolic changes in real time under various conditions and dietary interventions.

Studies

Fun Lab Photos!