Wu named a 2016 Faculty Fellow by Texas A&M AgriLife Research

COLLEGE STATION — Dr. Chaodong Wu, an associate professor in the nutrition and food science department at Texas A&M University in College Station, has been named a 2016 Faculty Fellow by Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
AgriLife Research established the Faculty Fellows Program in 1998 to acknowledge and reward exceptional research faculty within the agency. The Faculty Fellow designation is permanent and becomes a part of the recipient’s academic title.

The announcement was made during award ceremonies on Jan. 14 at the AgriLife Center on the campus of Texas A&M University, College Station.

Wu earned his undergraduate degree from Hubei University of Chinese Medicine in Wuhan, China. He received his master’s degree in medical science from Tongji Medical University in Wuhan and his Ph.D in medical science from Beijing Medical University. He joined the faculty at Texas A&M in 2007.

In addition to his research work, Wu teaches a course in nutrition and physiological chemistry as a well as a nutrition seminar.

According to his nomination for Faculty Fellow, Wu’s research on obesity-related inflammation, metabolic changes and metabolic diseases has elevated Texas A&M’s reputation in nutrition obesity research.

Wu has noted the goal of his research program is to understand the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of obesity and overnutrition-associated metabolic diseases so novel dietary and/or pharmacological approaches can be developed to prevent and/or treat these diseases.

His nomination cited his groundbreaking research on “healthy obesity,” which focuses on targeting inflammation rather than fat deposition for disease prevention. It also cited his findings on the connection between body clock impairment and obesity-related metabolic disorders, noting these “made a big impact as well, emphasizing the importance of eating healthy foods at the right times.”

In the past five years, Wu has received over $3.6 million in research funding, including two National Institutes of Health grants. He has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and serves in leadership roles in various professional societies. Wu also has presented at numerous state, national and international conferences.

His accolades include awards from the American Diabetes Association, Minnesota Medical Foundation, Minnesota Obesity Center and the Center for Diabetes Research at the University of Minnesota. Locally, Wu was awarded a Grand Challenge Grant in 2014 to form the first nutrition obesity research center at Texas A&M and was funded by AgriLife Research to improve the nutrition obesity infrastructure. He has also helped obtain funds for graduate research in this field at AgriLife Research.

Wu’s lab has hosted nine Texas A&M graduate students, and he has served on 14 graduate committees.