Director of Clinial Research: 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 explores the intersections between environment, nutrition, the gut microbiome, the gut-brain-stress-immune axes and interactions, and physical and mental health. 

More specifically, Dr. Vita's research explores the role(s) of non-pharmacological interventions (e.g., dietary supplements, nutrition) in mitigating chronic inflammatory diseases and mental health disorders. Her work also explroes gut microbial metabolism of dietary compounds and the intersection 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 skillsets in microbiome and multi-omics analysis at Colorado State University while also earning her Master of Public Health (MPH) in Applied Biostatistics program at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus.

1. Vita, A. A., McClure, R., Farris, Y., Danczak, R., Gundersen, A., Zwickey, H., & Bradley, R. (2022). Associations between Frequency of Culinary Herb Use and Gut Microbiota. Nutrients, 14(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14091981
2. Vita, A. A., Zwickey, H., & Bradley, R. (2022). Associations between food-specific IgG antibodies and intestinal permeability biomarkers. Front Nutr, 9, 962093. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.962093
3. 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. Nutrients, 16(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16060773
4. 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. Nutrients, 16(18). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16183173
5. 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
6. Vita, A. A., & Pullen, N. A. (2022). Exploring the mechanism of berberine-mediated T(fh) cell immunosuppression. Phytomedicine, 105, 154343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154343
7. 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. J Leukoc Biol, 106(1), 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1002/jlb.3mir1118-414rr
8. Vita, A. A., Aljobaily, H., Lyons, D. O., & Pullen, N. A. (2021). Berberine Delays Onset of Collagen-Induced Arthritis through T Cell Suppression. Int J Mol Sci, 22(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22073522