Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise occupies labs, classrooms, and graduate and administrative offices in Wallace Hall, and has professors performing research and Extension at War Memorial and the Wallace Annex, all located within Virginia Tech’s main campus.
Due to the department’s success and growth, this year HNFE has extended its branches to Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center (CRC). Just over the hill from campus, this state-of-the-art facility is equipped to enhance capabilities for metabolic phenotyping and behavioral assessment.
HNFE’s partnership with Carilion Clinic has resulted in the Translational Obesity Research Program at Virginia Tech Riverside in Roanoke, which strives to produce a public health impact through physical activity, nutrition, and weight management interventions.
In addition, our Extension programs take knowledge from the University to empower the citizens of the Commonwealth. Specialists in the department work with Extension educators to emphasize food, nutrition, and health to diverse audiences throughout the state. For students in HNFE, this connection to the community offers opportunities for both research and practical experience.
Fast Facts
- 21 faculty members
- 725 undergraduate students
- 47 graduate students
- 8 Post Doctoral Fellows
- For both 2008 and 2009 HNFE received over eight million dollars of Federal funding, and had 44 peer reviewed manuscripts either in print or in press
History of HNFE
The department began as the School of Home Economics in 1958 and had various names over the years such as “Food and Nutrition” in 1960, and “Human Nutrition and Foods” in 1964. The Exercise element was added in 1994.