Sarah Andres, PhD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine
STEMPrep Program, co-director
Papé Family Pediatric Research Institute
Oregon Health & Science University

The Andres Lab is committed to defining novel mechanisms and nutrition-based therapeutics to treat or prevent intestinal barrier dysfunction.

Current projects

• Human milk extracellular vesicle cargo as modulators of intestinal barrier and immune function
  The Gerber Foundation
  NICHD R01 (co-I; PI: Scottoline)
  Past funding: Medical Research Foundation of Oregon and Collins Medical Trust
• Post-transcriptional regulation in neonatal intestinal development and inflammation
  NIDDK K01
  Pending NIDDK R03 (submitted)
• Roles for intestinal barrier function in cachexia and outcomes in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
  OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Quest Pilot Award (co-PI with Aaron Grossberg)

Zeynep Atamer, PhD

Assistant Professor
Food Innovation Center
Department of Food Science and Technology
College of Agricultural Sciences
Oregon State University

With over 15 years of research experience in both industry and academia, Dr. Zeynep Atamer is an experienced dairy scientist. She is actively involved in teaching, supervising master’s and doctoral students, and leading projects related to dairy science and technology. Her experience spans multinational environments (Turkey, Germany, USA), where she has worked on a diverse range of product portfolios, including cheese, casein ingredients, and ice cream. Her research focuses on dairy processing, dairy microbiology, thermal and non-thermal processes, milk proteins, heat-stable milk enzymes, fractionation of casein, membrane separation process, sustainable dairy processing, cheese and fermentation technology. She contributed to the development of OSU Arbuthnot Dairy Center Dairy Foods Manufacturing - Continuing Education Series (PACE course), initiated in cooperation with the dairy industry. Since 2022, she has organized various dairy workshops for the food industry and the university students, covering topics such as cheese, ice-cream, dairy chemistry.

She has received several of prestigious awards, including BUILD Dairy (Western Dairy Center) funding, the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Fellowship, the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, and the Professorwild Award.

Current projects

• Reduction of sugar in ice cream manufacturing via application of rare sugars

• Fractionation and processing effects on techno-functionality and bioavailability of health relevant peptides

Funding source: BUILD Dairy, Oregon Ice Cream, Oregon Dairy Council

Franck Carbonero, PhD

Associate Professor
Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology and School of Food Science
Washington State University

Dr. Carbonero’s research focuses on the connection between nutrition and gut health, specifically investigating grains, fruits and other foods for nutritive profiling, metabolomics, and the human microbiome.

Current projects

• USDA-ARS Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research Special Grant: Investigating the role of microbiome and metabolome in the prebiotic and urinary tract infection preventative effect of cranberry juice.

• USDA-STTR program: Analyzing Nutritional Benefits of Micronized Defatted Berry Seed Powders Using an in-vitro Model of the Human Gut Microbiome

• USDA-NIFA Foundational Program: Elderberry consumption and human health: a preliminary investigation into effects on indirect calorimetry, insulin sensitivity, and microbiome

• Washington Research Foundation Planning Grant. Optimizing human health and nutrition from Soil to Society

• Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research: Enhancing Human Health and Nutrition from Soil to Society using Quinoa as a Model Crop Species

• USDA-NIFA Sustainable Agricultural Systems program: Optimizing Human Health and Nutrition: From Soil to Society

Younas Dadmohammadi, PhD

Assistant Professor
Food Innovation Center, Portland, OR
Department of Food Science and Technology
College of Agricultural Sciences
Oregon State University

Dr. Dadmohammadi, a chemical engineer turned leader in food sustainability, leverages his expertise in engineering and food chemistry, along with industry experience, to drive innovative agrofood research. Committed to revolutionizing the field, he champions nature-derived foods as the pinnacle of nutritious, clean-label, and functional nutrition. His work focuses on the precision delivery of nutrient-rich options—such as milk—alongside health-promoting, sustainable foods that are entirely free from synthetic additives.

Current projects

• Precision delivery of micronutrients to promote synergetic effect

• Hybridization of animal and plant-derived proteins to enhance the functional properties

Maude David, PhD

Associate Professor
Departments of Microbiology
College of Science & College of Agricultural Sciences
Oregon State University

Dr. Maude David's work focuses on microbiota-gut-brain axis and applying new analytical methods to analyze multi-omics microbial datasets including using a crowd-sourced approach to collect lifestyle type information, diet habits, and samples, and using deep learning approaches to unravel microbial molecular mechanisms.

Current projects

• NSF: Defining the ecological and genomic properties that underlie microbiome sensitivity and resilience. The microbiome is a community of organisms that lives on and within plants and animals, playing a fundamental role in the health of their hosts. However, scientists currently have limited knowledge about the processes underlying how microbiomes respond to change and how such changes may alter the health trajectories of their hosts. This project will implement a novel conceptual and methodological framework to substantially advance discovery of these processes.

• OSU Valley Biohealth Fellowship- lead PI: The Gut Microbiome: a Therapeutic Target for Autism
  Second year of the fellowship. The goal of this fellowship is help build a transdisciplinary team and generate preliminary data to reach next level of funding.

• NSF- lead PI: CAIG: Using Deep Learning to Learn about the Deep Sea: Application of AI to Elucidate Drivers of Global Biogeochemical Cycles
  This NSF grant aim to develop and apply artificial intelligence approaches to identify new microbial biogeochemical pathways from deep sea samples.

• DoD – CDMRP Autism Research Program – lead PI: Impact of the Gut Microbiota on Gut Sensory Neurocircuits in Autism Spectrum Disorder (recommended for funding)

• This DoD grant leverages whole cell cross-linking technique to identify bacteria that directly interacts with gut sensory cells in children with and without a diagnosis of autism. David’s role: lead PI - David’s award: $544,000

• NSF- ACED – co-PI: Integrating Wide and Deep: Foundational AI Models for Accelerating Microbiome Science (recommended for funding)
  This project aims to develop the Multi-Modality Microbiome Foundation Model (M3FM), an artificial intelligence model that integrates microbiome data across various studies and data types.

Anna Hayes, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Food Science and Technology
College of Agricultural Sciences
Oregon State University

Dr. Hayes’ research program focuses on the characterization and design of foods that affect the gut-brain axis to alter food intake, metabolism, and cognition.

Current projects

• Upcycling of dietary fiber-rich byproducts and exploration of their health benefits

• Utilization of ancient grains and elucidation of their impacts on metabolism and cognition

   

Adam Higgins, PhD

Professor
Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering
Oregon State University

Dr. Higgins work includes device design for UV treatment of human milk to inactivate pathogens.

Current projects

Can High Pressure Processing (HPP) and Ultraviolet-C Irradiation (UV-C) Treatment Preserve Donor Milk Bioactive Protein Structure and Function Better than Holder Pasteurization?

PIs: Dave Dallas, Adam Higgins (OSU), Joy Waite-Cusic (OSU)

Team members: Ningjian Liang, Hussein Mohamed, Abdul Wazed, Bum Jin Kim, Michael Pitino, Cameron Sugden

Funder: National Institutes of Health

Our long-term goal is to optimize feeding practices for preterm infants to improve their health outcomes. The objectives of this research are to identify the minimum high pressure processing and UV-C treatment conditions that achieve equivalent microbiological safety to Holder pasteurization while optimally preserving bioactive protein structure and function. The positive impact of this research will be guidance for donor milk processors on how to optimally process donor milk for feeding preterm infants and information for clinicians on how to evaluate available donor milk sources. Changes in milk processing to better preserve bioactive milk proteins could improve preterm infant health outcomes.

Emily Ho, PhD

Distinguished Professor of Nutrition
College of Health
Oregon State University

Director of the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI)

Dr. Ho's research focuses on understanding the interplay among food-based bioactives, the microbiome and cellular mechanisms in the susceptibility and/or progression of chronic diseases. 

Current projects

NIFA- 2020-67001-31214

Discovery of Biological Signatures for Cruciferous Vegetable Intake: Integration of the Broccoli- and Host-derived Metabolome and the Microbiome.

Almond Board of California

1. Almonds to improve gut health and decrease inflammation in metabolic syndrome: This clinical study investigators the impact of almond snacking on gut permeability, antioxidant status and inflammatory parameters in metabolic syndrome patients.
2. Almonds to improve metabolic syndrome health outcomes through improved microbiome, oxylipin and immune health profiles.  This clinical study investigators the impact of almond snacking on microbiome and oxylipin profiles in metabolic syndrome patients.

Walnut Commission of California

Walnuts to improve cognitive function in older adults. In this clinical study, we will determine the extent to which daily consumption of walnuts by older adults for 12 weeks influences cognitive function and whether improvements are associated with changes in the resident gut microbiota.

Allen Foundation

Hope Grows Here: Mentored Gardening and Nutrition for Cancer Survivors. This projects utilizes mentored gardening with master gardeners and nutrition educators to facilitate wellness behaviors in cancer survivors.

NIH-P30 ES30287

Pacific Northwest Center for Translational Environmental Health Research – Deputy Director and Translational Research Support Core leader.

Neilann Horner, PhD, MPH, RD

Clinical Associate Professor
College of Health
Oregon State University

Director of the Nutrition Undergraduate Program

Dr. Horner’s work aims to ensure that evidence-based practitioners are in the field to provide medical nutrition therapy, as well as access to those who may benefit from nutrition services. Her research at OSU has focused on clinical nutrition service efficacy and outcomes. She organizes experiential and service-learning programs that offer students hands-on opportunities to learn and serve others as they explore their interests in food and nutrition. She also enjoys challenging students to build broad communication skills and professional networks.

Current projects

Dr. Horner is working with OSU MS-PD students to assess the food safety/independent living/nutritional needs of neurodiverse 18-21 years olds in the Albany Public Schools’ Transitions program. The team will be working in a fairly low resource kitchen environment, and members are currently reviewing literature on key nutritional issues, behavior that may require adaptations in pedagogy, and key skills needed for more independent living. Other topics they are exploring include the value of neurotypical peer socialization through cooking together and understanding ideas about how critical it is to include the full neurodiverse spectrum in the work force. The long-term goal is to use service learning to prepare clinicians with firsthand experience to be better able to serve neurodiverse people throughout their careers.

Urszula Iwaniec, PhD

Professor
School of Nutrition and Public Health
College of Health
Oregon State University

Dr. Iwaniec is a bone biologist whose nutrition-related research aims to understand the effects of obesity and alcohol consumption on skeletal health.

Current projects

NIH: The Role of Leptin in Inflammation-driven Bone Loss

Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells that generally acts positively on multiple organs, including the immune system and bone. However, results of studies conducted in our laboratory suggest that elevated levels may contribute to bone loss in response to chronic inflammation. The goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that: (1) leptin signaling is necessary for normal bone growth, maturation and turnover, but (2) in the presence of chronic inflammation, leptin signaling by immune cells promotes net bone loss

NIH: The Impact of Alcohol on Bone

Chronic heavy alcohol consumption has been implicated in having negative effects on the skeleton. However, moderate intake may be beneficial at certain stages of life (e.g., post-menopause). The goal of our alcohol research is to delineate the primary mechanisms mediating the divergent effects of moderate and heavy alcohol consumption on bone health.

Jung Kwon, PhD

Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor, Food Science & Technology
College of Agricultural Sciences
Oregon State University

Dr. Jung Kwon studies nutritional, nutraceutical, and biological impacts of diverse dietary resources at cellular and physiological levels. Kwon lab’s research supports developing useful nutritional and biomedical applications for human health promotion and disease prevention including modulation of gut microbiome.

Current projects

• Investigating health impact of Pacific dulse supplementation in human subjects under Western diet - USDA

• Assess the effect of protein isolates from seafood processing by-products on metabolic health - FFAR

• Assessing the prebiotic function of Pacific dulse polysaccharides and its impact on the gut microbiome - Oregon Sea Grant

Ningjian Liang, PhD

Research Associate
Nutrition Program, College of Health
Oregon State University

Dr. Liang’s research has focused on identifying gut health-enhancing peptides in milk and intestinal samples from infants and adults and determining the effects of an array of processing methods on milk safety and bioactivity.

Current projects

• Survival of bioactive milk protein across digestion in preterm infants fed with fresh human milk plus bovine milk fortifier, August 2022 – January 2023, Bobbie Infant Formula (co-PI)
• Edible microalgae fermented to improve protein quality and digestibility, October 2020 – March 2021, Oregon State University Advantage Accelerator Innovation Development Fund (co-PI)
• Can high-pressure processing (HPP) and ultraviolet-C (UV-C) treatment preserve donor milk bioactive protein structure and function better than Holder pasteurization? July 2021 – June 2026, National Institutes of Health
• Determine the bioavailability and immunomodulatory activity of bovine milk protein hydrolysates, September 2022 – January 2023, Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company Ltd
• Determining the immunomodulatory activity of bovine milk protein hydrolysates in human immune and intestinal epithelial cells. January 2021– October 2022, Hilmar Ingredients.

Claudia Maier, PhD

Professor, Department of Chemistry

The Maier group uses mass spectrometry approaches to detect, identify and quantify natural chemicals, including phytochemicals, endogenous and microbial metabolites, in biological samples with the goal to investigate their modus operandi and impact on human health, successful aging and food safety.

Current projects

• Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Centers (BDSRC) on Botanicals Enhancing Neurological and Functional Resilience in Aging (BENFRA)
  Soumyanath, Amala (PI); Role: Lead, Botanical Research Core
  07/01/2021 - 06/30/2025
  NIH U19AT010829
• Computation-assisted discovery of bioactive minor cannabinoids from hemp NIH
  Stevens, Jan F. (PI); Role: Co-Investigator
  09/25/2023 - 31/08/2025
  R21AT012695
• Single Cell Proteomics
  Maier, Claudia (PI)
  01/01/2022 – 01/31/2025
  Hewlett Packard/Oregon State University Collaboration Grant
• Discovery and Biological Signatures of Microbiome-Derived Xanthohumol Metabolites and their Role in Ameliorating Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  Stevens, Jan (PI); Role: Co-Investigator.
  01/01/2019 - 12/31/2024
  NIH R01AT010271
• Trapped Ion Mobility Spectrometry Quadrupole Time-of-flight System
  Maier, Claudia (PI)
  09/05/2023 - 09/04/2024
  NIH S10OD032323-A1

Sean Newsom, PhD, FACSM

Associate Professor
School of Exercise, Sport, and Health Sciences
College of Health
Oregon State University

Dr. Newsom is an integrative metabolic physiologist confronting rising health issues caused by weight gain and physical inactivity. His is currently focused on identifying how SGLT2 inhibitor treatments alter regulation of skeletal muscle metabolism and risk for type 2 diabetes.

Current projects

NIH R01DK132128: Use of SGLT2 inhibition to improve skeletal muscle metabolism in prediabetes

Nearly 90 million adults in the United States have prediabetes and limited options for effective therapeutic intervention. This project will provide new understanding of the therapeutic potential of using sodium-glucose cotransport 2 (SGLT2) inhibition as a treatment for prediabetes and generate new information regarding the mechanisms to explain how SGLT2 inhibition can improve skeletal muscle metabolism.

Matt Robinson, PhD

Associate Professor
School of Exercise, Sport, and Health Sciences
College of Health
Oregon State University

Dr. Robinson’s work aims to understand mitochondrial protein turnover and respiration during pathophysiology of Type 2 Diabetes and related metabolic disorders.

Current projects

NIH R01: Mechanism by which SGLT2 inhibitor treatment regulates skeletal muscle fuel metabolism

Excessive weight increases risk for development of prediabetes and type-2 diabetes, due in part to impairments in skeletal muscle metabolism. This project will provide new understanding of the mechanisms and therapeutic potential of using sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibition as a treatment for impairments to skeletal muscle metabolism associated with weight gain and obesity. Our long-term goal is to identify strategies to improve skeletal muscle metabolic health and lower disease risk.

Brian Scottoline, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, School of Medicine
M.D./Ph.D. Program Committee, School of Medicine
Oregon Health & Science University

Brian Scottoline, MD, PhD is a neonatologist-scientist in the Division of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University, and is an affiliate scientist at the Oregon National Primate Center.  He was a trainee of the Medical Scientist Training Program at Stanford University, where he received a PhD in Biochemistry and a MD. He completed his Pediatrics Residency at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, and his Neonatology Fellowship in the Joint Program in Newborn Medicine at Harvard/Boston Children’s Hospital. Brian works with Dr. Dave Dallas at OSU and colleagues on projects related to what human milk becomes in the infant intestine, defining human milk-intestinal epithelial cell and milk-enteric immune system interactions, and methods of human milk processing. He is also interested in the potential of the human milk symbiont, Bifidobacterium longum ssp infantis, to prevent the devastating neonatal intestinal inflammatory disease, necrotizing enterocolitis.

Current projects

National Institutes of Health (R01HD109193)
Scottoline (PI)
Defining bioactivities of peptides released from human milk proteins in the preterm infant intestine.
 
National Institutes of Health (R01HD097367)
Scottoline (Co-I)
Effects of human milk handling practices on peptide release and bioactivity in the preterm infant intestine.
 
National Institutes of Health (R44 HD112243HD)
Scottoline (Co-I)
Home monitoring of metabolic disease.
 
Evolve Biosciences/Infinant Health. Scottoline (PI)
01/01/22-12/31/24
Defining the biochemistry of necrotizing enterocolitis risk reduction by Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis EVC001

Natalia Shulzhenko, MD, PhD

Associate Professor
Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University

Dr. Shulzhenko's research interests focus on understanding the interactions between gut microorganisms (microbiota) and the immune system that drive chronic inflammatory disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. To study these, she uses large-scale omics data obtained from animal models and clinical samples.

Current projects

Canine Cancer Alliance (PI) 03/15/2023-12/31/2026
Predicting response to anti-cancer EGFR vaccine using gut microbiome and blood transcriptome in dogs with cancer.

John C. Erkkila, M.D. Endowment for Health and Human Performance (Shulzhenko) 07/01/2022-06/30/2023
Probiotic Lactobacillus gasseri for improving human metabolic health

R21 AI157369-01 Bogunovic/Morgun (co-PIs), Shulzhenko (co-I) 03/31/2021-04/01/2023
Microbiota, Tertiary Lymphoid Structures and Chronic Inflammation in the Human Gut

Ellen Smit, PhD, RD

Professor
School of Nutrition and Public Health
College of Health
Oregon State University

Dr. Smit is a nutritional epidemiologist. Her research is focused on diet, metabolism, and physical activity in relation to both chronic disease and HIV infection in diverse populations. Studies include cohort designs, multi-center studies, survey analysis of national databases, and linking of registry data sets.

Current projects

Food security and physical functioning in older adults.

Joy Waite-Cusic, PhD

Associate Professor of Food Safety Systems

The OSU Food Safety and Quality Systems Laboratory investigates microbiological challenges associated with dairy products from grass to glass.

Current projects

Alternative thermal treatments for sanitization of equipment presented in Appendix F of the PMO
Production and application of antilisterial byproducts of Bacillus spp. previously isolated from dairy products

Suppressing the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in Hispanic-style cheeses - evaluation of different interventions

Characterization and control of microbial gas production (“late-blowing”) in Gouda and Cheddar
Stability of sugars in cultured dairy products