The program leading to the Ph.D. in Food and Nutrition Sciences is a cooperative
offering of faculty in Food Science and Human Nutrition, Animal and Veterinary
Sciences, Biological Engineering, and School of Marine Sciences. Ph.D. candidates
choose one of the cooperating Departments for their major area of study and research
and a Graduate Committee is formed to include members from one or more of these
academic areas.
An individualized program of study is developed by the student and Graduate Committee
according to guidelines prepared by the Nutrition Sciences Program Committee.
Course requirements are flexible but include 4 credits of seminar with formal
courses in nutrition sciences and related areas chosen to prepare the student
for comprehensive examinations and research expertise.
Comprehensive examinations are required at the end of formal course work, but
may be taken no earlier than one year in the program. Both written and oral examinations
must be passed. The written must be passed before the oral and a maximum of three
attempts is allowed for the written/oral examinations combined.
A proficiency requirement of one language or one skill is required. Acceptability
of the language or skill is determined by the student’s Graduate Committee. Demonstration
of proficiency is determined by a member or members of the Graduate Faculty in
the appropriate area.
An original research investigation is carried out under the direction of a major
advisor. A dissertation is prepared describing results of the research and results
are presented in a formal seminar.
Desirable courses for the candidates for the Ph.D. in Nutrition Sciences are
given by each of the cooperating departments and are listed in the Course Descriptions
section of this catalog. Additional courses offered by the cooperating departments
and other departments may be taken upon approval of the student’s graduate committee.
Graduate Faculty
Rodney J. Bushway, Ph.D. (Texas A&M, 1977), Professor and Chair, Department of Food Science
& Human Nutrition. Food safety, fate of vitamins, natural toxicants, stress
metabolites, pesticides, and food additives as they apply to fruits and vegetables;
analytical methods development.
Robert C. Bayer, Ph.D. (Michigan State University, 1972), Professor. Fisheries and aquaculture
nutrition, management and physiology.
Alfred A. Bushway, Ph.D. (Purdue, 1978), Professor. Fruit and vegetable post-harvest quality and
product development.
Mary Ellen Camire, Ph.D. (Texas Woman’s University, 1989), Professor. Extrusion technology; nutrition
policy, dietary fiber; sensory evaluation; phytochemicals.
Richard A. Cook, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 1973), Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator.
Community nutrition including nutritional status assessment, monitoring and surveillance.
Particular interest nutrition risk assessment of older adults.
Darrell W. Donahue, Ph.D. (North Carolina State University, 1992), Associate Professor and Undergraduate
Program Coordinator of Biological Engineering. Food engineering, process engineering,
biosensors for liquid food systems, statistical process control, industrial process
simulation and control, quantitative risk assessment modeling.
Russell A. Hazen, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 2001) Assistant Professor and Cooperative Extension
Food Science Specialist. Food safety, food processing, and product and process
development.
Dorothy Klimis-Zacas, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University, 1982), Professor. Cholesterol, lipoprotein,
and trace mineral nutrition and metabolism as related to cardiovascular disease.
Transcultural studies on the role of Mediterranean diet(s) in certain degenerative
diseases.
Linda J. Kling, Ph.D. (University of Maryland, 1980), Associate Professor. Larval fish nutrition
and micro-diet development; development of aquaculture methodologies and strategies
for alternative fish species.
Clifford J. Rosen, M.D., (New York at Syracuse, 1975), Research Professor. Clinical and biological
implications of osteoporosis.
Denise I. Skonberg, Ph.D. (University of Washington, 1997), Associate Professor. Aquatic food product
technology; utilization of crustacean processing by-products; effects of aquaculture
feeds on food fish quality.
Martin R. Stokes, Ph.D. (University of Glasgow, 1978), Professor and Chair, Department of Animal
& Veterinary Sciences. Ruminant nutrition, silage preservation and utilization,
dietary manipulation to maximize animal performance and efficiency. Mechanism
of action of enzyme-based silage and feed additives.
Susan S. Sullivan, D.Sc., R.D. (Boston University, 1995), Assistant Professor and Director of
the Didactic Program in Dietetics. Clinical nutrition topics; calcium, vitamin
D, and bone mineralization.
Vivian C.H. Wu, Ph.D. (Kansas State University, 2002), Assistant Professor. Food safety and
security, food microbiology, food fermentation, and rapid methods and automation
in microbiology. Particular interest in the development of new systems for rapid
determination of pathogenic injured and non-injured microorganisms in foods, and
the development of strategies to control, eliminate, or prevent foodborne pathogens
in foods.
Charles R. Wallace, Ph.D. (University of Florida, 1986), Associate Professor. Reproductive efficiency
of livestock.
Adrienne A. White, Ph.D., R.D. (University of Tennessee, 1988), Associate Professor and Dietetic
Internship Director. Nutrition education, interventions, and theory-driven behavior
change strategies. Food behavior across the life cycle.