Awarded in 2021
Home Department: Materials Science & Engineering
Faculty Advisors: Sarah Heilshorn (Materials Science & Engineering) and Tony Wyss-Coray (Neurology & Neurological Sciences)

For the past 20 years most of Dr. Christopher Gardner's research has been focused on investigating the potential health benefits of various dietary components or food patterns using randomized controlled trials. The interventions have involved vegetarian diets, soy, garlic, omega-3 fats/fish oil/flax oil, antioxidants, Ginkgo biloba, and popular weight loss diets. These trials have studied outcomes that include weight, blood lipids and lipoproteins, inflammatory markers, glucose, insulin, and body composition. Most of these trials have been NIH-funded.