Alex A Vita, PhD
Clinical Resarch Team Lead: Alexandra Adorno Vita, PhD
Dr. Vita is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Colorado State University's Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. She is also an Affiliate Researcher with the Helfgott Research Institute at the National University of Natural Medicine.
Dr. Vita's work focuses on clinical research that explores the intersections between environment, nutrition, the gut microbiome, as well as the gut-brain-stress-immune axes and their interactions with physical and mental health.
More specifically, her nutrition research investigates the role of non-pharmacological interventions, such as dietary supplements and nutrition, in mitigating chronic inflammatory diseases and mental health disorders. Additionally, Dr. Vita's research delves into gut microbial metabolism of dietary compounds and the relationship between environmental factors, the gut microbiome, and autoimmunity.
Dr. Vita received postdoctoral clinical research training through the NIH/NCCIH-funded BRIDG R90 program at NUNM and is currently expanding her skills in microbiome and multi-omics analysis at Colorado State University while pursuing her Master of Public Health (MPH) in the Applied Biostatistics program at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus.
Dr. Vita's Publications
Vita, A. A., McClure, R., Farris, Y., Danczak, R., Gundersen, A., Zwickey, H., & Bradley, R. (2022). Clinical research on associations between the frequency of culinary herb use and gut microbiota. Nutrients, 14(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14091981. Vita, A. A., Zwickey, H., & Bradley, R. (2022). A study on associations between food-specific IgG antibodies and intestinal permeability biomarkers in nutrition research. Front Nutr, 9, 962093. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.962093. Vita, A. A., Roberts, K. M., Gundersen, A., Farris, Y., Zwickey, H., Bradley, R., & Weir, T. L. (2024). Relationships between habitual polyphenol consumption and gut microbiota in the INCLD Health Cohort, contributing to the broader field of nutrition research. Nutrients, 16(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16060773. Nekrasov, E., Vita, A. A., Bradley, R., Contractor, N., Gunaratne, N. M., Kuehn, M., Kitisin, R., Patel, D., Woods, E., & Zhou, B. (2024). Changes in digestive health, satiety, and overall well-being after 14 days of a multi-functional GI primer supplement. This clinical research highlights the importance of gut microbiome health. Nutrients, 16(18). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16183173. Villanueva, J. L., Vita, A. A., Zwickey, H., Fitzgerald, K., Hodges, R., Zimmerman, B., & Bradley, R. (2025). Dietary associations with reduced epigenetic age: a secondary data analysis of the methylation diet and lifestyle study. Aging (Albany NY), 17(4), 994-1010. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206240. Vita, A. A., & Pullen, N. A. (2022). Exploring the mechanism of berberine-mediated T(fh) cell immunosuppression within nutrition research. Phytomedicine, 105, 154343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154343. Vita, A. A., Royse, E. A., & Pullen, N. A. (2019, Jul). Nanoparticles and danger signals: Oral delivery vehicles as potential disruptors of intestinal barrier homeostasis. This research contributes to understanding the gut microbiome. J Leukoc Biol, 106(1), 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1002/jlb.3mir1118-414rr. Vita, A. A., Aljobaily, H., Lyons, D. O., & Pullen, N. A. (2021). Berberine delays the onset of collagen-induced arthritis through T cell suppression, demonstrating its relevance in clinical research. Int J Mol Sci, 22(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22073522
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