Silvia Stan, Ph.D.

Research Interests

Dr. Stan's research has focused on how plant-derived bioactive compounds and nutritional interventions modulate the gut microbiome and help prevent or intercept breast and pancreatic cancers, with particular attention to the molecular mechanisms underlying those effects. Her work at Texas Tech will broaden that research into the relationship among food composition, food processing, dietary bioactives and the gut microbiome. She will investigate how those factors influence microbiome dynamics, intestinal physiology and health outcomes in humans and animals.

The research will encompass a range of foods regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture, including produce, meat, and fermented foods. In addition, Stan will collaborate with faculty in food microbiology on pathogen control, validation and regulatory compliance, as well as with food and meat science researchers examining food composition and its effects on health.

Background

Stan came to Texas Tech from the University of Nevada, Reno, where she served as a research associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biotechnology and as an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition. She earned a doctorate in food science and technology, with a minor in biochemistry and biophysics, from Oregon State University. She also completed postdoctoral research in pharmacology and cancer prevention at the University of Pittsburgh’s Cancer Institute and School of Medicine.

Stan's scholarly work has earned national recognition. She has chaired the Diet & Cancer Research Interest Section of the American Society for Nutrition and served as an NIH grant reviewer on Cancer Prevention and Cancer Immunoprevention study sections. Stan is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Society for Nutrition and the Institute of Food Technologists.