Micah Battson, a former Ph.D. student in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, is one of many students who researches heart health.

Research project

Battson pursued his Ph.D. in the lab of Associate Professor Chris Gentile in collaboration with Associate Professor Tiffany Weir. He researched how harmful changes to the gut microbiome may be linked to damage in blood vessels.

“This is important because blood vessel damage is the initial step towards heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.,” Battson said. “We hope to identify effective therapeutics, such as customized probiotics, to reverse blood vessel damage caused by an unhealthy diet and obesity. If successful, our work may also translate to other causes of heart disease such as aging and diabetes and hopefully lead to alternative treatment options for this disease.”

Education

Battson is originally from Santa Barbara, California. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in biochemistry, Battson attended CU-Boulder, where he began his research studies in integrative physiology. In 2014, he came to CSU to pursue his Ph.D. in Food Science and Human Nutrition in order to broaden his understanding of how metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes increase the risk of developing heart disease. After graduating with his Ph.D. in 2018, Battson is now an instructor with Metropolitan State University of Denver.

February is American Heart Month

The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition is in CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.