Rogers named department head of nutritional sciences
May 11, 2022
Author: Cal Powell  | 706-542-6402  | More about Cal

Pennsylvania State University’s Connie Rogers has been named head of the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences, effective Aug. 1.

Rogers currently serves as associate director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State and was recently promoted to professor of nutritional sciences and physiology within the College of Health and Human Development.

She received a Ph.D. in cell biology and physiology from the University of Pittsburgh and holds master’s degrees in both physiology and public health from Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh, respectively.

During her nearly 20-year career, Rogers has built an interdisciplinary research program in nutritional immunology and chronic disease prevention that has been funded by federal, industry and foundation sources.

Her research focuses on the role of changes in energy balance and related nutritional factors on inflammation, immune regulation and cancer risk.

“I am thrilled to join an outstanding department and college and the larger UGA community,” Rogers said. “The department has a strong reputation for cutting-edge research, transformative education and impactful outreach. The faculty are exploring critical research questions in the field of nutritional sciences across the translational spectrum from basic research to public health and implementation science. The faculty also are national leaders in training the next generation of nutritional scientists, and the critical work in Extension and outreach is positively impacting the health of many Georgians. I’m delighted to be a part of the vision and mission and look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead.”

Rogers began her career at Penn State in 2010 as an assistant professor. Prior to taking that role, she served as a senior research fellow at the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute.

Rogers is a member of the Translational Cancer Center Consortium, a regional cancer center working group whose mission is to gain a greater understanding of the interaction between the immune system and cancer, and has served as the as co-director of the Translational Research Training Program (TL1) in Penn State’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

She also directs the Nutrition and Immunity Lab, which studies the impact of obesity, physical activity and various nutritional factors on inflammation and immune regulation to prevent and/or reduce progression of cancer and other metabolic diseases.

She has authored 60 peer-reviewed publications and six book chapters and serves as the principal investigator on a United States Department of Agriculture-funded grant to evaluate the effect of probiotic consumption on inflammation, gut permeability and the microbiome in older adults with obesity.

Rogers also serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Health and Nutrition as well as the journal Recent Progress in Nutrition.

Lynn Bailey, the Flatt Professor in Nutritional Sciences, has served as head of the department of nutritional sciences head since 2011 and is retiring in August.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Rogers to the college,” FACS interim dean Sheri Worthy said. “In addition to being a masterful researcher, teacher and mentor to both graduate students and junior faculty, she has demonstrated excellence as a collaborator and visionary. She is an excellent choice to lead our department of nutritional sciences.”


In this category: Nutrition