Plants in phenotyping pots

About Us

The Nebraska Food for Health Center, launched in September 2016, brings together faculty researchers from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha to tie gastrointestinal and biomedical research to agriculture, plant and animal breeding and genetics. Andrew Benson, the W.W. Marshall Jr. Professor of Biotechnology at Nebraska, directs the center.

The center will initially focus on:

  • Bringing together a research team to tie gastrointestinal and biomedical research to agriculture, plant and animal breeding and genetics. In addition to University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty, the team includes faculty from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
  • Establishing a research program to develop foods with proven health benefits, particularly those that affect the human gut microbiome — the collection of all the beneficial and potentially harmful micro-organisms in the digestive system that can affect health and well-being.
  • Preparing a talented workforce for careers in food health, including researchers, food and health industry leaders and food innovation entrepreneurs.

Students and faculty in the field