Research Activities

Amy R. Nichols, PhD, MS, RDN is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition at UC Davis who is leading innovative research focused on how nutrition influences women’s health across major life stages.

Packaged foods offer convenience for families and individuals, but they can be a major source of saturated fat, sodium and added sugars, which when consumed in excess contribute to chronic disease. To help people build healthier diets, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a new front-of-package nutrition label in January 2025 that would inform consumers about the presence of these nutrients.

Researchers with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition and the Western Human Nutrition Research Center on campus work together to advance long-term wellbeing in our communities. 

They conduct human clinical trials in areas like precision nutrition and metabolic research to better understand how foods, nutrients and other components affect our health and wellness. With funding support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health, this work delivers real benefits to everyday lives.

Take a look at some of our work in action.

If you’re passionate about advancing the science of nutrition, from molecular mechanisms to public health, consider joining the Graduate Group in Nutritional Biology (GGNB) at UC Davis. As part of the GGNB you will collaborate with leading researchers, explore diverse areas of nutritional science, and contribute to discoveries that shape health outcomes worldwide.

Every August, National Breastfeeding Month invites us to celebrate nursing parents and their dedication. But it also offers an opportunity to reconsider how science and public health approach one of the most foundational aspects of human development: nutrition in early life.

What makes a baby healthy—and what does the latest research say?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death globally, affecting millions of lives each year. From heart attacks and strokes to high blood pressure and atherosclerosis, the burden of heart-related conditions is not only physical but also emotional and economic.

Dr. Angela Zivkovic is a leading researcher in precision nutrition and a professor in the Department of Nutrition at UC Davis. Her work is grounded in the belief that chronic disease is not an inevitable part of aging, but rather the result of accumulated damage driven by factors like dysregulated metabolism and chronic inflammation—both of which are deeply influenced by diet and lifestyle. 

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.

Full article on the Allen Institute news post.

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Awards $10.5 Million to new Allen Distinguished Investigators. Research funding will support four projects focused on extracellular vesicles and three on sex hormones.

Dr. Lauren Au is one of 10 recipients of the 2023 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Eating Research Grants. Her project aims to determine whether length of participation in Medicaid, SNAP, and WIC is associated with diet quality and weight status at 2-5 years, and whether there is a synergistic benefit of safety net program participation on diet quality and health.