Faculty and Staff

Halide Zeynep Aydin, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies within the College of Public Health at George Mason University.

Dr. Basiri is an Assistant Professor of Nutrition and a Registered Dietitian whose research focuses on precision nutrition for the prevention and management of cardiometabolic diseases, particularly prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Batheja is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food and Nutrition Studies. Batheja’s research interests are how to leverage technology to create dietary behavior changes and impact overweight and obesity.

Martin Binks Ph.D., MBA is professor, and Chair of the department of Nutrition and Food Studies at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Dr. Binks has been a metabolic disease scientist & clinician for over 20 years and is an experienced administrative leader in healthcare, business and clinical program development. He has assisted thousands of patients with behavioral pharmacologic and surgical weight loss, health and wellness, and quality of life improvement and has mentored countless early career professionals over his distinguished career.

Dr. Cheskin is Professor in the Nutrition and Food Studies, Co-Principal Investigator of the Mason Cohort: Health Starts Here study, and Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.  He received his medical degree from Dartmouth, and postdoctoral training at Yale-New Haven Hospital. 

Dr. Lilian de Jonge is a professor at the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. She obtained her PhD degree in nutrition from the Université de Montréal, in Montréal, Canada.

Dr. Maryam Farvid is an associate professor within the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, at College of Public Health. arvid’s primary research focus centers on conducting cutting-edge studies to examine the role of diet and lifestyle factors in both preventing and healing of non-communicable diseases in the developed and developing countries. She dedicated years to the study of diabetes, investigating the role of dietary intake, lifestyle factors, and antioxidant supplements in diabetes complications.

Suzannah (“Suzi”) Gerber, PhD is a food, nutrition, and behavior scientist, renowned chef, and food‑system innovation leader.

Dr. Kerri LaCharite, Associate Professor at George Mason University, specializes in sustainable food systems, urban agriculture, and food policy. Her research and teaching focus on experiential learning, campus agriculture, and nutrition education.

Tyler Mason, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies and Director of the Biobehavioral Research on Eating and Appetite Dysregulation (BREAD) lab.