Lisa Marie Tussing-humphreys

Biography

Dr. Tussing-Humphreys is assistant professor in the Division of Academic Internal Medicine and Geriatrics of the Department of Medicine in the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. She directs the UI Cancer Center's Diet and Behavior Shared Resource, which supports the integration of behavioral and psychosocial factors into UICC research protocols. She also is an associate in the UIC Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health and an IHRP Fellow. Her current work focuses on obesity-associated iron metabolism dysfunction and its relationship to health status and disease risk. A registered dietitian, Dr. Tussing-Humphreys earned her doctoral degree in human nutrition from the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences in 2009, writing her dissertation on hepcidin-mediated iron deficiency of obesity. She holds an MS in nutritional sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BS in clinical dietetics from SUNY College at Buffalo. Before returning to UIC in 2012, Dr. Tussing-Humphreys was research scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, and principal investigator of a church-based diet and physical activity intervention for African American adults in the Lower Mississippi Delta region.

Research Interest

Dr. Tussing-Humphreys’ research focus is on obesity, inflammation, and nutrient metabolism dysfunction with specific interest in iron metabolism. Currently her lab is investigating links between obesity-associated iron metabolism dysfunction and colorectal cancer risk as well as maternal and fetal iron status and perinatal outcomes.