Aline Andres, Ph.D., R.D., C.L.C.

Biography

Dr. Aline Andres is a leading investigator in maternal and child nutrition, whose work is transforming our understanding of how early-life factors shape long-term health. After completing her post-doctoral fellowship at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center (ACNC)—a USDA–Agricultural Research Service National Human Nutrition Research Center—she has continued to advance innovative research programs that bridge maternal health, infant nutrition, and metabolic development.

Through her leadership at ACNC, Dr. Andres has spearheaded several landmark studies that provide critical insights into how maternal excessive weight and early infant feeding influence childhood growth and metabolic outcomes. She has strengthened and expanded the Beginnings cohort, a comprehensive longitudinal study examining the role of early feeding patterns in infant development. Recognizing key gaps in the field, she designed and launched Glowing, a unique cohort investigating how maternal body composition during the earliest weeks of pregnancy programs offspring metabolism—an area with profound implications for public health and obesity prevention. She also leads Expecting, a randomized controlled trial evaluating targeted exercise interventions for sedentary pregnant women with excess weight, generating much-needed evidence to guide maternal wellness strategies.

Together, these multidisciplinary research efforts—built through deep collaboration and exceptional scientific teamwork—are shaping future recommendations for infant feeding, pregnancy health, and lifelong metabolic well‑being. Dr. Andres’s work is supported by multiple federal agencies, including the USDA-ARS and the National Institutes of Health (NIDDK, NIEHS, NIDA, and NICHD), underscoring the national relevance and scientific impact of her research.

Outside the lab, Dr. Andres enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and friends. She finds balance through hiking, yoga, meditation, reading, and traveling.

Research Interests

Dr. Andres’s research program centers on understanding how nutrition during the earliest stages of life—both before and after birth—shapes a child’s growth, body composition, metabolic health, and overall development. Her work investigates how maternal health, body composition, and dietary patterns influence fetal and neonatal development during critical windows in which lifelong trajectories for metabolic function are established. A major arm of her research focuses on infant nutrition, examining how differences in human milk composition and characteristics of infant formula contribute to optimal growth and long-term health outcomes. By identifying the specific nutritional components that support healthy development, her work aims to inform evidence-based recommendations that improve early-life care and reduce risk for later metabolic disease.

To address these complex biological questions, Dr. Andres collaborates closely with multidisciplinary teams across the ACNC, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and partnering institutions nationwide. Together, these teams integrate expertise in nutrition, pediatrics, metabolism, imaging and molecular biology to advance a holistic understanding of how early-life nutrition programs lifelong health.

Email: andresaline@uams.edu