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

  • Bodenrader, A., Sotres-Alvarez, D., Dao, M. C., Scott, T. M., Aytur, S. A., Noel, S. E., . . . Bigornia, S. J. (2026). Dairy Products Are Not Adversely Associated with Depressive Symptoms over 6 Years in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.. Nutrients, 18(11). doi:10.3390/nu18111805

  • Poulimeneas, D., Anastasiou, C. A., Vlachogianni, E. -E., Charokopou, A., Bitsa, M., Das, S. K., . . . International Weight Control Registry Research Group. (2025). A pilot study on traditional vs. digital self-administered questionnaire completion in the International Weight Control Registry.. Clin Nutr 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.. Front Nutr, 11, 1376599. 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.. Front Nutr, 10, 1230061. doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1230061

  • Molinaro, A., Bel Lassen, P., Henricsson, M., Wu, H., Adriouch, S., Belda, E., . . . Bäckhed, F. (2020). Imidazole propionate is increased in diabetes and associated with dietary patterns and altered microbial ecology.. Nat Commun, 11(1), 5881. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19589-w

  • Vieira-Silva, S., Falony, G., Belda, E., Nielsen, T., Aron-Wisnewsky, J., Chakaroun, R., . . . Raes, J. (2020). Statin therapy is associated with lower prevalence of gut microbiota dysbiosis.. Nature, 581(7808), 310-315. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2269-x

  • Aron-Wisnewsky, J., Prifti, E., Belda, E., Ichou, F., Kayser, B. D., Dao, M. C., . . . Clément, K. (2019). Major microbiota dysbiosis in severe obesity: fate after bariatric surgery.. Gut, 68(1), 70-82. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2018-316103

  • Flandroy, L., Poutahidis, T., Berg, G., Clarke, G., Dao, M. -C., Decaestecker, E., . . . Rook, G. (2018). The impact of human activities and lifestyles on the interlinked microbiota and health of humans and of ecosystems.. Sci Total Environ, 627, 1018-1038. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.288

  • Dao, M. C., Everard, A., Aron-Wisnewsky, J., Sokolovska, N., Prifti, E., Verger, E. O., . . . Clément, K. (2016). Akkermansia muciniphila and improved metabolic health during a dietary intervention in obesity: relationship with gut microbiome richness and ecology.. Gut, 65(3), 426-436. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2014-308778

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  • Most Cited Publications