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A compact guide to the human body and how it works, powered by the world-class scientists of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.

Latest Episode

Are we eating ourselves to death? 

Alex DiFeliceantonio, an internationally-known researcher in the neuropscychology of nutrition, who explores whether foods can be addictive, the role of ultra-processed foods in that proposition, and what can be done about the rise of such foods and a parallel rise food-related disorders.

Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, Ph.D.

More About Alex DiFeliceantonio

Alex DiFeliceantonio, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and interim co-director of the Center for Health Behaviors Research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and leader of the DONNUT Lab. She leads studies that seek to understand the basic mechanisms of food choice, by both isolating the properties of foods in our modern food environment to evaluate their effect on physiology, brain function, and brain-physiology interaction, and trying to understand how individual differences in response to these food properties can confer risk or benefit for disease outcomes. 

"Curious Conversations" is a series of free-flowing conversations with Virginia Tech researchers that take place at the intersection of world-class research and everyday life.  

The Pocket Science Team