Nutrition/Infection

The Nutrition/Infection Unit, a division of the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine under the direction of Christine Wanke, MD, is engaged in research in nutrition and infectious diseases in the U.S. and around the world in locations such as Argentina, India, Kenya, Pakistan, and Vietnam.

Our research addresses nutritional and metabolic aspects of HIV/AIDS with and without drug abuse, as well as international health issues such as diarrheal diseases and growth faltering. Learn more about our research.

Our emphasis on international health has been strengthened with the establishment in 2006 of the Center for Global Health Research. Directed by Patricia Hibberd, MD, PhD, the center provides support for junior investigators in the Tufts community with regard to the design, conduct, and funding of clinical research on international health.
The Nutrition/Infection Unit is home to TNC-CDAAR, the Tufts University Nutrition Collaborative-Center for Drug Abuse and AIDS Research. TNC represents a partnership between Tufts, Brown and Johns Hopkins, and their affiliated hospitals. The purpose of a CDAAR is to “enhance basic, clinical, epidemiological, prevention, and applied research on drug abuse and HIV infection through the support of shared resources.” Learn more about TNC-CDAAR.

Additionally, the microbiology laboratory conducts studies on diarrhea, lactobacilli strains, and antimicrobial drugs, and the biochemistry laboratory is engaged in fatty acid analyses, lipid research, and hormone studies.
View the Nutrition/Infection Unit Site.