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.

Beth L. Calder, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 2003), Assistant Professor and Extension Food Science Specialist. Assisting Maine food companies with product development. Value-added and food safety research. Improving the post-harvest quality of fresh-cut and processed Maine potatoes.

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. Community nutrition including nutritional status assessment, monitoring and surveillance. Particular interest in nutrition risk assessment of older adults.

Darrell W. Donahue, Ph.D. (North Carolina State University, 1992), 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.

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.

L. Brian Perkins, Ph.D. (Univ. of Maine, 2002), Laboratory Manager and Research Chemist, Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition. Method development for the detection of pesticide residues in food and environmental samples by HPLC, GC, MS and ELISA. Naturally occurring toxins, phytochemicals and vitamins in food.

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 and Graduate Coordinator. Aquatic food product technology; utilization of crustacean processing by-products; effects of aquaculture feeds on food fish quality, and seafood product development.

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), Lecturer 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.

Adrienne A. White, Ph.D., R.D. (University of Tennessee, 1988), Professor and Dietetic Internship Director. Nutrition education, interventions, and theory-driven behavior change strategies. Community based participatory research. Food behavior across the life cycle.