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The Institute for Global Nutrition is proud to be a new member of The Global Complementary Feeding Collective.

Co-led by UNICEF and WHO, the Global Complementary Feeding Collective brings together global partners to improve nutrition for children aged 6–23 months. By strengthening policies, programs, and advocacy, the Collective supports families, policymakers, and organizations to drive sustainable improvements during this critical window of growth.

On Friday, November 14th, 2025, Dr. Lauren Au (Department of Nutrition) joined Vicki Gonzalez on Capital Public Radio to discuss the impact of the government shutdown on food security and what it means for families across the country. Her insights highlight how policy decisions impact families in our communities.

The General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition Innovation Award recognizes an investigator whose scientific contributions advance the understanding of healthy dietary patterns, which includes whole grains, cereals, fruits, vegetables and/or dairy. Eligible recipients are conducting mechanistic, epidemiological, clinical, and/or translational research contributing to the understanding of the benefits of a healthy dietary pattern. 
This award is endowed by the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition.

More than 20 years ago, researchers at the Institute for Global Nutrition at UC Davis conducted pioneering research showing that the growth patterns of breastfed infants differ from those of formula-fed infants. This groundbreaking work led the World Health Organization (WHO) to initiate the Multicenter Growth Reference Study, a six-country effort to create new growth standards for children under five years of age. 

The Nigerian government has enacted a new industrial standard for bouillon which includes a provision for adding vital micronutrients. The new standard specifies the inclusion of iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12 on a voluntary basis in nationally produced and imported bouillon cubes to reduce malnutrition and child mortality.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation awarded Katherine Kwon the 2024 Jean Hankin Nutritional Epidemiology Research Grant of $20,000. The Jean Hankin Nutritional Epidemiology Research Grant is given to provide financial support to a doctoral student working on a dissertation in the area of nutritional epidemiology.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation selected Jonnatan Fajardo as the 2024 $10,000 Foundation Scholarship winner. Jonnatan said, “I am incredibly honored to receive the 2024 Commission on Dietetic Registration Doctoral Scholarship, which will significantly support my research in global nutrition. This generous scholarship has already allowed me to attend the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE), where I was able to connect with leading experts and gain valuable insights that will enhance my research.

Sometimes, all it takes to eat better is a little nudge in the right direction. A team of UC Davis researchers is working on a new smartphone app that makes it easier to eat healthy by recognizing what’s on your plate and offering personalized suggestions to improve your diet.

 HappyFeed co-founders CEO Davrina Rianda, Nutritional Biology Ph.D candidate, CFO/CMO Galih Setiawan, UC Davis MBA student; and CTO Nathanael Thomas, won the $12,500 Food and Agriculture Award at the 2024 UC Davis Big Bang! Competition sponsored by the Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.  

The UC Davis Give Day is just a few days away! This year, we are thrilled to have received a donation from the UC Davis Vice Chancellor for Research, Simon Atkinson, to support the Institute for Global Nutrition. 

This donation comes with a challenge-- we need 15 donors to make a gift of any size on or before April 20th to ‘unlock’ the donation.