Mary Henderson

Mary Henderson
  • GGNB Alumni
Bio

Class of 2012
Major Professor: Carl Keen / Louise Lanoue

Originally a Northern California native (Rocklin), I am currently entering my fourth year as a Ph.D. student in the Nutritional Biology program. Nutrition is and has been my major field of study for the past nine years! I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree here at UC Davis in Clinical Nutrition with a minor in Human Development and then went on to complete my Master of Science Degree in Nutrition at Tufts University in Boston, MA. While working on my Masters, I completed my Dietetic Internship at Tufts Medical Center and am currently a Registered Dietitian. I chose Nutrition because I have always felt that following a healthy lifestyle and eating pattern are very important and have always incorporated (as well as encourage) this philosophy into my own life as well as the life of others.  I am one who likes to have a little variety in my life so as of right now, my future plans include pursuing a career that involves research, clinical work, as well as teaching.

I am interested in investigating dietary patterns of women during pregnancy to observe (if any) persistent developmental effects of the fetus that may increase or decrease chronic disease risk later in life. I am particularly interested in investigating maternal-fetal nutrient interactions on a genetic/genomic level. My current research involves investigating any developmental effects of certain phytochemicals (flavonoids) on heart disease risk, utilizing various mouse models.