Catherine Cohen, PhD, RDN

Research Interests

I am a Nutrition Scientist and Registered Dietitian whose research examines how diet- and nutrition-related risk factors across the lifecourse shape trajectories of adiposity and metabolic health. I am particularly interested in early-life nutrition, beginning in pregnancy and extending through childhood, as a critical window for metabolic programming. My work integrates lifecourse and nutritional epidemiology with advanced metabolic and obesity research methods, including state-of-the-art imaging techniques for assessing body composition. Much of my research is conducted within large, longitudinal pre-birth cohort studies, which provide the unique data needed to identify sensitive developmental periods and modifiable dietary exposures. A central aim of my program is to translate observational evidence into precision nutrition interventions designed to prevent adverse adiposity and metabolic outcomes in youth.

Publications

• Cohen CC, Moore JM, Bothwell S, Pyle L, Lopez-Paniagua D, Ware MA, Whooten R, Zeitler PS, Nadeau KJ, Kelsey MM. Adipose Depot Changes and Associated Metabolic Risk in the Longitudinal Health Influences of Puberty Study. Pediatr Obes. 2026 Mar;21(3):e70083. PubMed PMID: 41771666
• Hall R, Hernandez AM, Rosas-Rogers S, Liegl M, Pan AY, Cohen C, Palatnik A. The Association Between Periconceptional Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food and the Incidence of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes. Nutrients. 2026 Feb 14;18(4). PubMed PMID: 41754144
• Cohen CC, Dabelea D, Davy BM, Glueck DH, Newton KP, Perng W, Welsh JA, Schwimmer JB, Vos MB. Responsiveness of the Serum Carbon Isotope Ratio to Dietary Added Sugar Reduction in a Randomized Controlled Trial among Youth with Steatotic Liver Disease. J Nutr. 2025 Oct;155(10):3496-3505. PubMed PMID: 40812479
• Cohen CC, Peng MQ, Davy BM, Perng W, Shankar K, Dabelea D. Associations of Food Group Intakes with Serum Carbon Isotope Ratio Values in Youth: Results from 2 Prospective Pediatric Cohort Studies. J Nutr. 2025 Jan;155(1):293-304. PubMed PMID: 39510505
• Cohen CC, Dabelea D, Sinha M, Delamater AM, Glueck DH, Hockett CW, Hoskin MA, Manson S, Mayer-Davis E, Phimphasone-Brady P, Powell JC, Wasak D, Stamatoiu AV, Steinberg RI, Sauder KA. A Randomised Controlled Trial Testing a Behavioural Intervention Program for the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Among American Indian Youth: The Tribal Turning Point Study. Pediatr Obes. 2025 Dec;20(12):e70053. PubMed PMID: 40884258
• Cohen CC, Harrall KK, Hu H, Glueck DH, Perng W, Shankar K, Dabelea D. Associations of infant feeding practices with abdominal and hepatic fat measures in childhood in the longitudinal Healthy Start Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2024 Feb;119(2):560-568. PubMed PMID: 38000661
• Huneault HE, Chen CY, Cohen CC, Liu X, Jarrell ZR, He Z, DeSantos KE, Welsh JA, Maner-Smith KM, Ortlund EA, Schwimmer JB, Vos MB. Lipidome Changes Associated with a Diet-Induced Reduction in Hepatic Fat among Adolescent Boys with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease. Metabolites. 2024 Mar 28;14(4). PubMed PMID: 38668319
• Huneault HE, Gent AE, Cohen CC, He Z, Jarrell ZR, Kamaleswaran R, Vos MB. Validation of a screening panel for pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease using metabolomics. Hepatol Commun. 2024 Mar 1;8(3). PubMed PMID: 38407264
• Cohen CC, Huneault H, Accardi CJ, Jones DP, Liu K, Maner-Smith KM, Song M, Welsh JA, Ugalde-Nicalo PA, Schwimmer JB, Vos MB. Metabolome × Microbiome Changes Associated with a Diet-Induced Reduction in Hepatic Fat among Adolescent Boys. Metabolites. 2023 Mar 8;13(3). PubMed PMID: 36984841
• Sauder KA, Cohen CC, Mueller NT, Hockett CW, Switkowski KM, Maldonado LE, Lyall K, Kerver JM, Dabelea D, O'Connor TG, Glueck DH, Melough MM, Couzens GL, Catellier DJ, Smith PB, Newby KL, Benjamin DK. Identifying Foods That Optimize Intake of Key Micronutrients During Pregnancy. J Nutr. 2023 Oct;153(10):3012-3022. PubMed PMID: 37604382
• Gilley SP, Harrall KK, Friedman C, Glueck DH, Cohen CC, Perng W, Sauder KA, Krebs NF, Shankar K, Dabelea D. Association of Maternal BMI and Rapid Infant Weight Gain With Childhood Body Size and Composition. Pediatrics. 2023 May 1;151(5). PubMed PMID: 37016999
• Sinclair EM, Cohen CC, Tran V, Jones DP, Alvarez JA, Kamaleswaran R, Rad MG, Kruszewski PG, Vos MB. Untargeted, High-Resolution Metabolomics in Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2023 Mar 1;76(3):355-363. PubMed PMID: 36728821
• Kasman M, Hammond RA, Reader L, Purcell R, Guyer S, Ganiban JM, Mitchell DC, Dabelea DM, Bellatorre A, Bekelman TA, Cohen CC, Perng W, Grummon AH, Wu AJ, Oken E, Kleinman K. Childhood Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption: an Agent-Based Model of Context-Specific Reduction Efforts. Am J Prev Med. 2023 Dec;65(6):1003-1014. PubMed PMID: 37451323
• Cohen CC, Perng W, Sauder KA, Shapiro ALB, Starling AP, Friedman C, Felix JF, Küpers LK, Moore BF, Hébert JR, Shivappa N, Scherzinger A, Sundaram SS, Shankar K, Dabelea D. Maternal Diet Quality During Pregnancy and Offspring Hepatic Fat in Early Childhood: The Healthy Start Study. J Nutr. 2023 Apr;153(4):1122-1132. PubMed PMID: 36796482
• Cohen CC, Harrall KK, Gilley SP, Perng W, Sauder KA, Scherzinger A, Shankar K, Sundaram SS, Glueck DH, Dabelea D. Body composition trajectories from birth to 5 years and hepatic fat in early childhood. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022 Oct 6;116(4):1010-1018. PubMed PMID: 36055960
• Cohen CC, Francis EC, Perng W, Sauder KA, Scherzinger A, Sundaram SS, Shankar K, Dabelea D. Exposure to maternal fuels during pregnancy and offspring hepatic fat in early childhood: The healthy start study. Pediatr Obes. 2022 Jul;17(7):e12902. PubMed PMID: 35122420
• Cohen CC, Perng W, Bekelman TA, Ringham BM, Scherzinger A, Shankar K, Dabelea D. Childhood nutrient intakes are differentially associated with hepatic and abdominal fats in adolescence: The EPOCH study. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2022 Feb;30(2):460-471. PubMed PMID: 35088559
• Francis EC, Kechris K, Cohen CC, Michelotti G, Dabelea D, Perng W. Metabolomic Profiles in Childhood and Adolescence Are Associated with Fetal Overnutrition. Metabolites. 2022 Mar 19;12(3). PubMed PMID: 35323708
• Cohen CC, Dabelea D, Michelotti G, Tang L, Shankar K, Goran MI, Perng W. Metabolome Alterations Linking Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake with Dyslipidemia in Youth: The Exploring Perinatal Outcomes among CHildren (EPOCH) Study. Metabolites. 2022 Jun 17;12(6). PubMed PMID: 35736491
• Cohen CC, Castillo-Leon E, Farris AB, Caltharp SA, Cleeton RL, Sinclair EM, Shevell DE, Karsdal MA, Nielsen MJF, Leeming DJ, Vos MB. PRO-C3, a Serological Marker of Fibrosis, During Childhood and Correlations With Fibrosis in Pediatric NAFLD. Hepatol Commun. 2021 Nov;5(11):1860-1872. PubMed PMID: 34558828
• Liu KH, Owens JA, Saeedi B, Cohen CE, Bellissimo MP, Naudin C, Darby T, Druzak S, Maner-Smith K, Orr M, Hu X, Fernandes J, Camacho MC, Hunter-Chang S, VanInsberghe D, Ma C, Ganesh T, Yeligar SM, Uppal K, Go YM, Alvarez JA, Vos MB, Ziegler TR, Woodworth MH, Kraft CS, Jones RM, Ortlund E, Neish AS, Jones DP. Microbial metabolite delta-valerobetaine is a diet-dependent obesogen. Nat Metab. 2021 Dec;3(12):1694-1705. PubMed PMID: 34931082
• Cohen CC, Perng W, Sundaram SS, Scherzinger A, Shankar K, Dabelea D. Hepatic Fat in Early Childhood Is Independently Associated With Estimated Insulin Resistance: The Healthy Start Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Oct 21;106(11):3140-3150. PubMed PMID: 34289064
• Cohen CC, Perng W, Sauder KA, Ringham BM, Bellatorre A, Scherzinger A, Stanislawski MA, Lange LA, Shankar K, Dabelea D. Associations of Nutrient Intake Changes During Childhood with Adolescent Hepatic Fat: The Exploring Perinatal Outcomes Among CHildren Study. J Pediatr. 2021 Oct;237:50-58.e3. PubMed PMID: 34171361
• Cohen CC, Li KW, Alazraki AL, Beysen C, Carrier CA, Cleeton RL, Dandan M, Figueroa J, Knight-Scott J, Knott CJ, Newton KP, Nyangau EM, Sirlin CB, Ugalde-Nicalo PA, Welsh JA, Hellerstein MK, Schwimmer JB, Vos MB. Dietary sugar restriction reduces hepatic de novo lipogenesis in adolescent boys with fatty liver disease. J Clin Invest. 2021 Dec 15;131(24). PubMed PMID: 34907907
• Cohen CC, Sekkarie A, Figueroa J, Gillespie SE, Vos MB, Welsh JA. Longitudinal associations of total and trunk fat in childhood and adolescence and risk of hepatic steatosis at 24?years. Pediatr Obes. 2021 Aug;16(8):e12773. PubMed PMID: 33559403
• Cioffi CE, Narayan KMV, Liu K, Uppal K, Jones DP, Tran V, Yu T, Alvarez JA, Bellissimo MP, Maner-Smith KM, Pierpoint B, Caprio S, Santoro N, Vos MB. Hepatic fat is a stronger correlate of key clinical and molecular abnormalities than visceral and abdominal subcutaneous fat in youth. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2020 Jul;8(1). PubMed PMID: 32699106
• Castillo-Leon E, Cioffi CE, Vos MB. Perspectives on youth-onset nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Endocrinol Diabetes Metab. 2020 Oct;3(4):e00184. PubMed PMID: 33102800
• Jin R, McConnell R, Catherine C, Xu S, Walker DI, Stratakis N, Jones DP, Miller GW, Peng C, Conti DV, Vos MB, Chatzi L. Perfluoroalkyl substances and severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver in Children: An untargeted metabolomics approach. Environ Int. 2020 Jan;134:105220. PubMed PMID: 31744629
• Sekkarie A, Welsh JA, Northstone K, Cioffi CE, Stein AD, Figueroa J, Ramakrishnan U, Vos MB. ALT Trends through Childhood and Adolescence Associated with Hepatic Steatosis at 24 Years: A Population-Based UK Cohort Study. Children (Basel). 2020 Sep 1;7(9). PubMed PMID: 32882815
• Khusial RD, Cioffi CE, Caltharp SA, Krasinskas AM, Alazraki A, Knight-Scott J, Cleeton R, Castillo-Leon E, Jones DP, Pierpont B, Caprio S, Santoro N, Akil A, Vos MB. Development of a Plasma Screening Panel for Pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Using Metabolomics. Hepatol Commun. 2019 Oct;3(10):1311-1321. PubMed PMID: 31592078
• Cioffi CE, Welsh JA, Alvarez JA, Hartman TJ, Narayan KMV, Vos MB. Associations of Added Sugar from All Sources and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages with Regional Fat Deposition in US Adolescents: NHANES 1999-2006. Curr Dev Nutr. 2019 Dec;3(12):nzz130. PubMed PMID: 32154500
• Cioffi CE, Alvarez JA, Welsh JA, Vos MB. Truncal-to-leg fat ratio and cardiometabolic disease risk factors in US adolescents: NHANES 2003-2006. Pediatr Obes. 2019 Jul;14(7):e12509. PubMed PMID: 30682733
• Cioffi CE, Figueroa J, Welsh JA. Added Sugar Intake among Pregnant Women in the United States: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2012. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2018 May;118(5):886-895.e1. PubMed PMID: 29325892
• Cioffi CE, Ranjani H, Staimez LR, Anjana RM, Mohan V, Weber MB. Self-efficacy and diabetes prevention in overweight South Asians with pre-diabetes. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2018;6(1):e000561. PubMed PMID: 30397491
• Cioffi CE, Levitsky DA, Pacanowski CR, Bertz F. A nudge in a healthy direction. The effect of nutrition labels on food purchasing behaviors in university dining facilities. Appetite. 2015 Sep;92:7-14. PubMed PMID: 25913685

Professional Memberships

• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Member
• American Society for Nutrition, Member
• American Diabetes Association, Member
• American Heart Association, Member
• The Obesity Society, Member
• Perinatal Research Society, Associate Member