Interdepartmental Nutrition Program (INP) and Fuqua Graduate Student Seminar Series

Spring 2026

All Seminars are Fridays, 10:30 am, BRNG 2290 (unless otherwise noted)

Interdepartmental Nutrition Program Seminar

The Interdepartmental Nutrition Program (INP) is structured to offer excellent educational opportunities to qualified graduate students through an integrated approach involving faculty from a variety of departments at Purdue University and other institutions. This seminar series is supported by funds from Interdepartmental Nutrition Program affiliated departments.

Fuqua Graduate Student Seminar

The Fuqua Graduate Student Seminar Series in Nutrition Science is named in memory of the life and career of Dr. Mary Fuqua. Dr. Fuqua served as a faculty member in Nutrition Science (formerly the Department of Foods and Nutrition) at Purdue University from 1963 to 1987. During her tenure, she held positions as Department Head, Associate Dean of Home Economics Extension, and Associate Dean of (the former) School of Consumer and Family Sciences. Naming this seminar series in memory of Dr. Fuqua is fitting as she was passionate about giving high-quality presentations and teaching this important skill to her students and colleagues.

View Past Seminars

Spring 2026 Seminars

*January 23	How Do Edible Mushrooms Impact Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Disease Risk and Immune Function? Luz Comboni, PhD Candidate Graduate Advisor: Dr. Wayne Campbell
January 30	Meat glue”-mediated Histone Aminylation and Its Epigenetic Roles in Pathophysiology Qingfei Zheng PhD Assistant Professor, Borch Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University
February 6	Moving the Needle: Interventions to Alter Energy Balance Claire Berryman PhD, RD Associate Professor and Director Nutritional Physiology Lab, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
February 20	Beyond the Guidelines: What We Still Don’t Know About Vitamin D for Mothers and Infants Sina Gallo PhD, MSc, RD Associate Professor, University of Georgia
*February 27	*Role of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) in Mediating Skeletal Muscle Health* Xinyue Lu, PhD Candidate Graduate Advisor: Dr. Markworth
*March 6	Metabolic Adaptability of Breast Cancer Cells Metastastic to the Lung and Liver Marjorie Layosa, PhD Candidate Graduate Advisor: Dr. Dorothy Teegarden
March 13	*Navigating Regulatory Changes with a Next Generation of Plant Derived Food Colorants* Monica Giusti, PhD Distinguished Professor and Associate Chair; CFAES – Food Science and Technology Department, The Ohio State University
March 27	*Managing Aflatoxin Contamination in the U.S. Corn Supply Chain* Klien Ileleji, PhD Professor and Extension Engineer, Agriculture and Biological Engineering, Purdue University
*April 3	Iron Deficiency-Associated Hippocampal Alterations: A Mechanistic Pathway to Obesity Risk? Elina Dawoodani, PhD Candidate Graduate Advisor: Dr. Laura Murray-Kolb
April 10	*Diet quality in the United States: Causes, consequences, and implications for nutrition security* Joseph Balagtas, PhD Professor, Ag Economics/Director of CFDAS, Purdue University
April 17	*CKD and Exercise: from bench to bedside* Keith Avin PhD Associate Professor. Indiana University, Indianapolis
April 24	*Bowers Lecture Series* *From Pipettes to Policy: Leveraging Cross-Disciplinary Experience in Nutrition and Cancer Research* Audrey Goldbaum, PhD, MPH Cancer Prevention Fellow, Risk Factor Assessment Branch, Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, Division of Cancer Control & Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute

*Fuqua Graduate Seminar

Interdepartmental Nutrition Program (INP) and Fuqua Graduate Student Seminar Series

Spring 2026

All Seminars are Fridays, 10:30 am, BRNG 2290 (unless otherwise noted)

Spring 2026 Seminars

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