Maria Carlota Dao

Maria Carlota Dao

Assistant Professor
Phone: (603) 862-4723
Office: Kendall Hall, Room 107, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:

Dr. Maria Carlota Dao is an Assistant Professor of Human Nutrition in the Department of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems at the University of New Hampshire. As an interdisciplinary scientist focused on obesity research, she investigates the interplay of cardiometabolic risks, dietary and psychosocial factors, and the gut microbiota. Through this work she seeks to address obesity in health disparity populations. Prior to becoming a faculty member at UNH, Dr. Dao worked as a scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Her training includes a postdoctoral fellowship at the Sorbonne University and INSERM (Institute of Cardiometabolism and Nutrition) in France, and a PhD in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

For a complete list of Dr. Dao's publications, please visit: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WIj7JvQAAAAJ&hl=en

Visit our lab webpage: https://sites.usnh.edu/dao-lab/

Courses Taught

  • ANFS 999: Doctoral Research
  • BMS 799H: Senior Honors Thesis
  • NUTR 720/820: Community Nutrition
  • NUTR 927: Nutr Gut Micr
  • NUTR 961: Research Methods Nutr II

Education

  • Ph.D., Tufts University
  • M.A., Tufts University
  • B.A., Boston University

Research Interests

  • Health Disparities
  • Malnutrition
  • Microbiome
  • Nutritional Physiology
  • Obesity

Selected Publications

  • Poulimeneas, D., Anastasiou, C. A., Vlachogianni, E. -E., Charokopou, A., Bitsa, M., Das, S. K., . . . Whigham, L. (2025). A pilot study on traditional vs. digital self-administered questionnaire completion in the International Weight Control Registry. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, 67, 174-177. doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2025.03.015

  • Gerber, S., Silver, R. E., Das, S. K., Greene, S. S., Dix, S. R., Ramirez, I., . . . Roberts, S. B. (2024). Development and Feasibility of an eHealth Diabetes Prevention Program Adapted for Older Adults-Results from a Randomized Control Pilot Study.. Nutrients, 16(7). doi:10.3390/nu16070930

  • Lewis, E. D., Ortega, E. F., Dao, M. C., Barger, K., Mason, J. B., Leong, J. M., . . . Combs, G. F. (2024). Corrigendum: Safe and effective delivery of supplemental iron to healthy adults: a two-phase, randomized, double-blind trial – the safe iron study. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11. doi:10.3389/fnut.2024.1376599

  • Lewis, E. D., Ortega, E. F., Dao, M. C., Barger, K., Mason, J. B., Leong, J. M., . . . Combs, G. F. (2023). Safe and effective delivery of supplemental iron to healthy adults: a two-phase, randomized, double-blind trial – the safe iron study. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10. doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1230061

  • Belda, E., Voland, L., Tremaroli, V., Falony, G., Adriouch, S., Assmann, K. E., . . . Clément, K. (2022). Impairment of gut microbial biotin metabolism and host biotin status in severe obesity: effect of biotin and prebiotic supplementation on improved metabolism. Gut, 71(12), 2463-2480. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2021-325753

  • Dao, M. C., Yu, Z., Maafs-Rodriguez, A., Moser, B., Cuevas, A. G., Economos, C. D., & Roberts, S. B. (2022). Perceived intrinsic, social, and environmental barriers for weight management in older Hispanic/Latino adults with obesity. OBESITY SCIENCE & PRACTICE. doi:10.1002/osp4.631

  • Al Assal, K., Prifti, E., Belda, E., Sala, P., Clément, K., Dao, M. -C., . . . Waitzberg, D. L. (2020). Gut Microbiota Profile of Obese Diabetic Women Submitted to Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Its Association with Food Intake and Postoperative Diabetes Remission.. Nutrients, 12(2). doi:10.3390/nu12020278

  • Dao, M. C., Saltzman, E., Page, M., Reece, J., Mojtahed, T., Wu, D., & Meydani, S. N. (2020). Lack of Differences in Inflammation and T Cell-Mediated Function between Young and Older Women with Obesity.. Nutrients, 12(1). doi:10.3390/nu12010237

  • Dao, M. C., Belda, E., Prifti, E., Everard, A., Kayser, B. D., Bouillot, J. -L., . . . Clément, K. (2019). Akkermansia muciniphila abundance is lower in severe obesity, but its increased level after bariatric surgery is not associated with metabolic health improvement.. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 317(3), E446-E459. doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00140.2019

  • Dao, M. C., Subar, A. F., Warthon-Medina, M., Cade, J. E., Burrows, T., Golley, R. K., . . . Holmes, B. A. (2019). Dietary assessment toolkits: an overview.. Public Health Nutr, 22(3), 404-418. doi:10.1017/S1368980018002951

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  • Most Cited Publications