Position Title
Associate Project Scientist
Education
- B.A., Socio-cultural Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park, 2003
- B.S., Microbiology, University of Maryland, College Park, 2003
- Ph.D., Nutritional Biology, University of California, Davis, 2011
Research Interests
Dr. Wessells' research interests are focused on zinc deficiency among infants and young children in low-income countries, and the evaluation of therapeutic and preventive interventions designed to improve nutritional status in these populations. She is also interested in the dietary and biochemical assessment of nutritional status, and relationships between nutritional status, intestinal mucosal function and infection.
Selected Publications
Wessells KR, Ouedraogo ZP, Rouamba N, Hess SY, Ouedraogo JB, Brown KH. Short-term zinc supplementation with dispersible tablets or zinc sulfate solution yields similar positive effects on plasma zinc concentration of young children in Burkina Faso: A randomized controlled trial. J Pediatr. 2011. [PubMed]
Wessells KR, Jorgensen JM, Hess SY, Woodhouse LR, Peerson JM, Brown KH. Plasma zinc concentration responds rapidly to the initiation and discontinuation of short-term zinc supplementation in healthy men. J Nutr. 2010. [PubMed]
Brown KH, Wessells KR, Hess SY. Zinc bioavailability from zinc-fortified foods. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2007. [PubMed]