Current research interests of Institute for Global Nutrition faculty members are:
Maternal and child nutrition
- Determinants of infant-feeding practices
- Impact of infant-feeding practices on children's energy and nutrient intakes, morbidity from infections, and growth
- Determinants of lactation performance and composition of human milk
- Impact of lactation on maternal nutritional status
- Development and promotion of enhanced complementary feeding of breastfed infants
- Nutrition and behavioral development and school performance
- Nutrition of women of reproductive age
Micronutrients
- Micronutrient deficiencies
- Novel techniques to assess micronutrient status
- Bioavailability of vitamins and minerals from mixed diets
- Metabolic interactions among nutrients
- Interventions to improve micronutrient status
- Effect of infection on micronutrient metabolism
Determinants of food intake
- Socio-cultural, economic, geographic, historical, and other factors affecting food choices and dietary intake
- Dietary and other biological factors influencing appetite and energy intake
Nutrition and Infection
- Relationships among feeding practices, nutritional status, and risk of infection
- Nutritional impact of infections
- Dietary management of infections
- Effect of intestinal parasites on nutrition and behavior
Nutritional Assessment
- Development of novel techniques to assess body composition and status of specific micronutrients, such as vitamin A, iron, and zinc
- Nutritional surveillance
Food and Nutrition Programs and Policy
- Evaluation of nutrition intervention programs (e.g., promotion of exclusive breast feeding, promotion of improved complementary feeding, growth monitoring, school feeding, etc.)
- Impact of community infrastructure and services on childhood malnutrition
- Impact of agricultural and economic development on human nutrition
- Comparative analyses of national nutrition policies
The Institute for Global Nutrition enjoys collaborative linkages with a number of research and training programs in developing countries, and facilitates inter-institutional exchange of faculty members and students. UC Davis professors currently participate in field projects in each of the major regions of the developing world -- Latin America, Asia, and Africa -- and provide technical assistance to international public health and welfare agencies such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the United States Agency for International Development.