Carol L. Cheatham, Ph.D.

Nutrition & Brain Development Team Member, Nutrition Research Institute
Department of Psychology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Contact Information:
Email: carol_cheatham@unc.edu
Website: https://www.cheathamlab.com/

Research Interests & Goals:
Carol L. Cheatham is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist. She is an Associate Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) on the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, NC. Dr. Cheatham earned her Ph.D. at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota in 2004. Her research focuses on the influences of nutrition on brain development and function. To explore questions of individual differences in development, she employs both behavioral (e.g., imitation paradigms) and electrophysiological (i.e., ERP) methodology. In her research program at the NRI, she is exploring the effects of nutrients on cognitive abilities across the lifespan. Dr. Cheatham specializes in the study of nutrients and bioactives that are essential to the integrity of the hippocampus (e.g., fatty acids & choline), which is the memory center of the brain. Importantly, in collaboration with scientists at the NRI, she is able to extend her work to include the molecular aspects of nutrient utilization, which when explored in conjunction with the behavioral and electrophysiological work is a step toward understanding the role of fetal programming, epigenetics, and individualized nutrition in cognitive development.