Yu Hasegawa, PhD

Yu holds a B.S. in Bioscience and Chemistry from the Hokkaido University, Japan, and a Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of California-Davis. The focus of her projects was to investigate the impact of maternal obesity on infant metabolic and cognitive development. She also worked as a predoctoral research trainee at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she identified transcriptional regulators of early human embryonic development in individuals with Down Syndrome.

She is interested in understanding the influence of food and dietary bioactives on human metabolism and immune function in order to lower disease risk and promote health. Her current projects study immune-modulatory and anti-inflammatory effects of yogurt related to obesity.

Outside of work, Yu enjoys practicing capoeira and kickboxing, loves anime and manga, and looks forward to harvesting her slow-growing shiso herb (perilla).