Zhenlei Xiao, PhD, Associate Professor in Residence
Dr. Xiao is a UConn faculty member whose research centers around enhancing the nutrition, quality, and safety of fresh produce within the context of plant-based foods. Her current research area focuses on exploring novel agricultural practices and implementing pre- and post-harvest interventions to improve these aspects. With a strong emphasis on sustainability, Dr. Xiao also investigates controlled environment agriculture to develop innovative methods for producing highly nutritious, safe, and locally accessible fresh produce. Dr. Xiao's research interests extend to food innovation and product development, including initiatives such as upcycling food waste and creating new food products with the ultimate aim of achieving commercial viability. Through a multidisciplinary approach, Dr. Xiao contributes to the advancement of plant-based food systems, ensuring their positive impact on nutrition, environmental sustainability, and the broader community. Visit website
Christopher Blesso, PhD, Associate Professor
Christopher Blesso is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut. He has been working at the University of Connecticut since 2013 and teaches graduate courses on macronutrient metabolism and regulation of energy balance. His research focuses on preventing cardiometabolic diseases through dietary modification, with an emphasis on pathways related to lipid metabolism. He conducts molecular nutrition and human nutrition studies, with the former using mouse models of human disease. Visit website
Sangyong Choi, Assistant Professor
Dr. Sangyong Choi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut. His research in Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics has focused on understanding the interactions between genes and nutrients with a primary interest in zinc nutrition in physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Dr. Choi teaches graduate courses – Vitamins & Minerals, Precision Nutrition, and Nutrition & Gene Expression.
Maria Luz Fernandez, Professor Emeritus
Dr. Maria Luz Fernandez is a Professor Emeritus at the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Fernandez was a faculty member at UConn for 25 years before she retired in 2022. Her area of research focuses on the effects of dietary strategies, life style factors and drug treatment to prevent cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. She has established the lack of association between eggs and heart disease risk factors. She has used the guinea pig as an animal model to study how diet and drugs affect lipid metabolism, inflammation, oxidative stress, fatty liver and atherosclerosis. She co-teaches the Vitamins and Minerals course.
Yangchao Luo, PhD, Associate Professor
Dr. Luo is an expert in cutting-edge nanotechnology for plant-based foods. Leading a modern research laboratory, one of his primary goals concerns the development of safe and effective nanoscale delivery systems for nutrients. By studying how foods interact at the smallest scale, Dr. Luo explores various delivery systems like nanoparticles, nanocomplexes, nanoemulsions, and hydrogels. Ultimately, Dr. Luo studies the targeted delivery of nutrients, investigating how nanoparticles behave in the digestive system to improve the availability of beneficial nutrients. This pioneering work in nanotechnology for plant-based foods has the potential to transform how nutrients are delivered and used by our bodies. Visit website