Study of how aging influences nutrient requirements and metabolism at the biochemical and molecular level. Discussion of dietary changes to offset the effects of aging and to improve quality of life.

Examine the interactions between nutrition and multi-level "omics (e.g., genome, transcriptome, methylome) as they relate to chronic disease and health. Includes a focus on gene-diet interactions in the context of population genetic variation and the bidirectional molecular interactions that influence gene and protein expression as well as epigenetic modification.

Explore and examine nutrition-related behavior through the application of health behavior theories and models. Includes theories such as the Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Theory, Diffusion of Innovations, Transtheoretical Model, Social Support, and Social Ecological Model. Investigate theoretical constructs, benefits and limitations of each theory/model, considerations needed for unique populations or behaviors, and how to develop a theory-based program plan.

Examine the role of epidemiological methods as the basis for selection of study design and data collection tools in nutrition research such as dietary tools, biomarkers of diet or disease, and anthropometric measurements like obesity. Examine the interpretation of study results in nutrition research.