Nutritional Sciences has entered a renaissance with the increased recognition of the role of nutrition in disease prevention and health maintenance. The goal of the Program in Nutrition and Health Sciences (NHS) is to provide students with the necessary skills to investigate the relationship between nutrition and human health, especially with respect to the prevention and control of nutritional problems and related diseases. This includes at a basic level, knowledge of how nutrients participate in biochemical processes and affect molecular events such as control of gene expression. At a population level, goals include a better understanding of the causes and consequences of variations in nutritional intakes and status, in order to improve dietary practices and to enhance health on a national and international level. The program integrates the fields of nutrition and public health sciences because many of the important questions of human health involve the interface between these disciplines.

The program encompasses two major facets of modern nutrition: molecular/cellular approaches and population/epidemiologic approaches. By combining the expertise of scientists at Emory University, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer Society, CARE USA, local universities and other organizations in the metro-Atlanta community, training is obtained with an integrative perspective. Faculty and students are generally identified with one or two areas of emphasis; however, collaboration among members is facilitated by shared seminars, joint teaching and research. Completion of the PhD program normally requires at least four years.