Leadership Team

Dennis Savaiano

Dennis A. Savaiano Ph.D. 

Director 

Meredith Professor of Nutrition Science, Dennis Savaiano, has studied lactose digestion for the past four decades. His research group has published on the numerous factors which influence lactose digestion and tolerance including lactose load, gastric and intestinal transit, the use of lactose digestive aids, colon fermentation of lactose and the consumption of fermented dairy foods and lactic acid bacteria. He also directs the Indiana CTSI Connections IN Health program that builds community health coalitions with the support of the Indiana State Department of Health.

Administrative Team

Robin Rhine

Robin Rhine EMT Certified

Clinical Manager 

Ms. Rhine oversees the clinical space which includes body composition and phlebotomy work.   She is also responsible for coordinating the tracking of safety training and reporting of CRC visits.  Ms. Rhine is a certified EMT and has been with Purdue University since 2005.  She brings 30 years of phlebotomy service to our unit.

Wanda Stevens

Wanda Stevens      BS

Program Administrator 

Ms. Stevens provides management oversight to the CRC including budgeting and process activities.  She serves as a resource to solve complex programmatic challenges and provide leadership to the staff.   During her 30 year career at Purdue, she has handled the fiscal management of many large research projects and brings a considerable amount of experience to the team.

Amy Wright

Amy Wright     BS, RD

Bionutrition Manager         

Ms. Wright oversees all operations in the metabolic kitchen. This ranges from the development of macro and micronutrient-controlled feeding menus to the oversight of the implementation. Beginning in 2012, she has supported over 20 controlled feeding trials. An alum of the Purdue Nutrition Science Department, Ms. Wright is committed to supporting the investigator and their team to advance nutrition and public health outcomes.

Support Team

Anne Wilcox

Anne Wilcox    MS/RD

Bionutrition Research Assistant 

Ms. Wilcox provides support to the Bionutrition unit. She holds certification in NDSR (Nutrition Data System for Research, University of Minnesota) diet assessment collection methods. Bringing 6 years of research experience to the unit, Ms. Wilcox helps investigators determine the correct diet assessment methods for their desired outcomes.