Melinda Annetta Beck is an American nutritionist and professor at the

Gillings School of Global Public Health The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health is the public health school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and is accredited by ...

at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

where she also serves as interim department chair. Her research investigates the relationship between nutrition and immune response to infectious disease. She was elected

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

in 2022.

Early life and education

Beck studied zoology at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. She moved to the

California Polytechnic State University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

for doctoral research, where she studied medical microbiology. Her graduate dissertation developed an immunofluorescent test to detect ''

Gardnerella vaginalis ''Gardnerella vaginalis'' is a species of Gram-variable-staining facultative anaerobic bacteria. The organisms are small (1.0–1.5 μm in diameter) non-spore-forming, nonmotile coccobacilli. Once classified as ''Haemophilus vaginalis'' ...

''. She then moved to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, where she studied cell-mediated immunity during re-infection with

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

Research and career

After her PhD, Beck was a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

at the

University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...

. Beck joined the faculty at the

in 1992. She was awarded a Fellowship in the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center. She was made associate professor in 1998, full professor in 2004 and department chair in 2022. Beck studies the relationships between host nutrition and how the immune system responds to infectious disease. In particular, she has studied how obesity impacts response to influenza, and the mechanisms that impact adult response to

flu vaccine Influenza vaccines, colloquially known as flu shots or the flu jab, are vaccines that protect against infection by influenza viruses. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice a year, as the influenza virus rapidly changes. While thei ...

s. She has shown that following influenza infection, obese mice have a higher mortality rate than their lean counterparts, and that obese individuals do not sustain anti-flu antibodies. She showed that deficiency in antioxidant nutrients can give rise to viral mutations that make viruses pathogenic. Her research was the first to show that nutritional deficiency in the host can permit a non-virulent virus to become virulent, indicting that the nutritional status of the host can drive infection.

Awards and honors

* 2001 E.L.R. Stockstad Award * 2023 Elected Fellow of the

Selected publications

* ''Obesity is associated with impaired immune response to influenza vaccination in humans'' * ''Selenium deficiency and viral infection'' * ''Individuals with obesity and COVID-19: A global perspective on the epidemiology and biological relationships''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Melinda Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American nutritionists Women nutritionists 20th-century American scientists 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American scientists 21st-century American women scientists University of California, Berkeley alumni California Polytechnic State University alumni Ohio State University alumni University of Nebraska Omaha people University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science