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What we work on

The Nutrition, Health, and Neuroscience Laboratory studies how diet shapes metabolism, immunity, and brain development. We work at the interface of production animal nutrition and biomedical science, with a particular emphasis on the domestic pig as a translational model. Our projects span feed ingredient evaluation, immune function and disease resilience in pigs and other non-ruminant species, as well as brain development and cognitive outcomes in the young pig.

Across this work we combine controlled nutrition studies with advanced imaging, behavioral testing, and analytical chemistry.

The goal is straightforward: generate data that improves animal health and performance while also informing nutrition strategies for human infants and children.

Our two research areas

Our program is organized around two connected areas that link diet, health, and brain function — with a primary emphasis on how early-life diet helps shape the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Nutrition & Health

Feed ingredients, bioactive compounds, and dietary strategies that drive growth, gut function, immunity, and disease resilience in pigs and poultry.

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Nutrition & Neuroscience

The young pig as a model for the human infant — how early-life nutrition shapes brain development, myelination, and cognition.

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The team

The lab brings together faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars, and students from animal sciences, nutritional sciences, neuroscience, and related fields. Trainees gain experience in study design, animal handling, sample collection, imaging, data analysis, and scientific communication.

Alumni from the group move into academic positions, industry research and development, and professional programs in nutrition, veterinary medicine, and other related fields.