University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Carle Illinois College of Medicine

Sharon M Donovan

Sharon M Donovan
Sharon M Donovan
Professor
Biomedical and Translational Sciences

For More Information

Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, 1989-1991, Stanford University School of Medicine
  • R.D., 1989, University of California, Davis
  • Ph.D., 1988, University of California, Davis
  • B.S., 1983, University of California, Davis

Biography

Dr. Donovan received her B.S. and Ph.D. in Nutrition at the University of California at Davis in 1983 and 1988, respectively. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, she joined the faculty at UIUC in February 1991 as an Assistant Professor of Nutrition. She was promoted to Associate Professor with indefinite tenure and to Full Professor in August 1997 and August 2001, respectively. She served as Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences between 1999 and 2009. Dr. Donovan teaches both basic and advanced nutrition classes and has been included on the "List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students" more than 25 times for 9 different courses. Dr. Donovan has ~ 225 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and receives grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), foundations and the food and pharmaceutical industry. Her research efforts have been recognized by both national and international organizations with several awards, and her graduate students have been the recipients of prestigious fellowships, scholarships and awards for their research accomplishments. She served as President of the American Society for Nutrition for 2011-2012 and served as the President of the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) for 2018-2020.

Academic Positions

  • Director, Personalized Nutrition Initiative, 2000-
  • Center for Advanced Study Professor, 2020-
  • Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Diet and Health, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, 2003-
  • Professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Division of Nutritional Sciences, 2001-
  • Director, Division of Nutritional Sciences, 1999-2009
  • Associate Professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Division of Nutritional Sciences, 1997-2001

Resident Instruction

  • FSHN 421 - Pediatric Clinical Nutrition

Research Interests

  • The Donovan laboratory conducts basic and translational research in the area of pediatric nutrition. During this phase of life, proper nutrition is of key importance for growth, development and long-term functional outcomes, such as cognition and immune response. On-going work in the lab is focusing on optimizing intestinal and cognitive development of neonates, development of the gut microbiome and prevention of childhood obesity.

Selected Articles in Journals

  • McMath AL, Barton JM, Cai T, Khan NA, Fiese BH, Donovan SM. Western, healthful, and low-preparation diet patterns in preschoolers of the STRONG Kids2 program. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 2024; 56:219-229. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2023.12.012
  • Morton JT, Jin D-M, Mills R, Shao Y, Rahman G, Berding K, Needham N, Zurita MF, David M, Averina OV, Alexey Kovtun A, Noto A, Wang M, Son J, Li E, Zhou W, Fanos V, Baldeón ME, Xavier R, Mazmanian S, Knight R, Gilbert J, Donovan SM, Lawley T, Carpenter B, Bonneau R, Taroncher-Oldenburg G. Multi-omic analysis along the gut-brain axis points to a functional architecture of autism. Nature Neuroscience 2023; 26(7):1208-1217. doi: 10.1038/s41593-023-01361-0.
  • Fan Y, Vinjamuri A, Lebrilla CB, Donovan SM, Determinants of human milk oligosaccharides profiles of participants in the STRONG Kids 2 cohort. Frontiers in Nutrition 2023; 10; doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1105668 PMID: 37057069 PMCID: PMC10086122
  • Donovan SM, Aghaeepour N, Andres A, Azad MB, Becker M, Carlson SE, Järvinen KM, Lin W, Lönnerdal B, Slupsky CM, Steiber AL, Raiten DJ. Evidence for human milk as a biological system and recommendations for study design—A report from “Breastmilk Ecology and the Genesis of Infant Nutrition (BEGIN)” Working Group 4. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2023; 117 Suppl 1: S61-S86. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2022.12.021.
  • McMath AL, Aguilar-Lopez M, Cannavale CN, Khan NA, Donovan SM. A systematic review on the impact of gastrointestinal microbiota composition and function on cognition in healthy infants and children. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2023; 17: 1171970. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1171970
  • Fan Y, McMath AL, Donovan SM. Review on the impact of milk oligosaccharides on brain and neurocognitive development in early life. Nutrients 2023; 15(17):3743. doi: 10.3390/nu15173743.
  • Bailey RL, Stang JS, Davis TA, Naimi TS, Schneeman BO, Dewey KG, Donovan SM, Novotny R, Kleinman RE, Taveras EM, Bazzano L, Snetselaar LG, de Jesus J, Casavale KO, Stoody EE, Goldman JD, Moshfegh AJ, Rhodes DG, Herrick KA, Koegel KL, Perrine CG, Pannucci T. Dietary and complementary feeding practices of U.S. infants, 6-12 months: A narrative review of the federal nutrition monitoring data. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2021; 122: 2337-2345.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2021.10.017.
  • Dewey KG, Pannucci T, Casavale KO, Davis TA, Donovan SM, Kleinman RE, Taveras E, Bailey RL, Novotny R, Schneeman BO, Stang J, de Jesus J, Stoody EE. Development of food pattern recommendations for infants and toddlers 6 to 24 months of age to support the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. Journal of Nutrition 2021; 151: 3113-3124. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab201 PMID: 34195834
  • Dewey KG, Gungor D, Donovan SM, Madan EM, Venkatramanan S, Davis TA, Kleinman RE, Taveras EM, Bailey RL, Novotny R, Terry N, Butera G, Obbagy JE, de Jesus J, Stoody EE. Breastfeeding and risk of overweight in childhood and beyond: A systematic review with emphasis on sibling pair and intervention studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2021; 114:1774-1790. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab206.
  • Aguilar-Lopez M, Dinsmoor AM, Ho TTB, Donovan SM. A systematic review of the factors contributing to the microbial colonization of the preterm infant gut. Gut Microbes 2021; 13:1-33. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1884514 PMID: 33818293 PMCID: PMC8023245
  • Dinsmoor AM, Aguilar Lopez M, Khan NA, Donovan SM. Dietary factors influencing fecal microbiota function and composition among healthy humans 1-20 years of age: A systematic review. Advances in Nutrition 2021; 12(5):1734-1750. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmab047 PMID: 33951139 PMCID: PMC8483965

Honors

  • Member, Center of Advanced Study, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (2020)
  • Elected member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (2017)
  • Lucille S. Hurley Distinguished Lecturer (Department of Nutrition, UC, Davis) (2016)
  • Spitze Landgrant Professorial Career Excellence Award (College of ACES) (2014)
  • Paul A. Funk Recognition Award (College of ACES) (2010)
  • Norman A. Kretchmer Award (American Society for Nutrition) (2006)
  • Jonas Salk Health Leadership Award, Central Illinois Division of the March of Dimes (2003)
  • Melissa N. Noel Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Health (2003)
  • University Scholar (UIUC) (1998-2001)
  • Mead Johnson Award (American Society for Nutritional Sciences) (1997)
  • Ehrlich-Koldovsky Young Investigator Award (International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation) (1995)
  • International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Future Leader Award (1992)

Research Honors

  • Award for Excellence in Research (College of ACES) (1997)
  • Senior Award for Excellence in Research (College of ACES) (2006)
  • Team Award for Excellence in Research for STRONG Kids/I-TOPP (College of ACES) (2015)

Public Service Honors

  • Member, Food and Nutrition Board, National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (2012-2018)
  • Workshop Planning Committee, Dietary Guidelines for Americans 0-2 years (B-24 Project), NIH (2012 - 2013)
  • Food Advisory Committee, Food and Drug Administration (2015 - 2017)
  • COVID-19 Infant Feeding - Research Interest Group (CIF-RIG), World Health Organization (WHO) (2019-2020)
  • Breastmilk Ecology-Genesis of Infant Nutrition (BEGIN) Collaborative Group, NIH (2020-2021)
  • Member, 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee, (2019-2020)

Recent Courses Taught

  • FSHN 421 - Pediatric Clinical Nutrition
  • NUTR 500 - Personalized Nutrition
  • NUTR 550 (FSHN 550) - Grantsmanship and Ethics