Nutrition & Food Studies
Nutrition Science & Dietetics Program
561 White Hall
Syracuse, New York 13244
315.443.3853
mavoss@syr.edu
CV (PDF)
Margaret A. Voss
Ph.D.Undergraduate Director
Associate Professor
Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence
Affiliate Faculty Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Studies
Dr. Voss teaches courses in nutritional biochemistry and metabolism in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies and is a faculty affiliate in the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience. She received a Ph.D. from Syracuse University for doctoral work in comparative physiology (foraging behavior, energetics, and reproductive physiology). She studies metabolism, nutritional ecology, reproductive physiology, and embryonic development. She is interested in the ways in which humans alter the environment and the consequent health repercussions for human and non-human vertebrates. Dr. Voss is a supporting partner of the One Health Initiative, a worldwide strategy for expanding interdisciplinary collaborations in health care for humans, animals, and the environment. In 2021, she was named a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence. Her Meredith project is a STEM focused educational website featuring case study narratives in nutritional biochemistry, video simulations, and instructions for hands-on lab activities to be done at home with items commonly found in the kitchen.
Dr. Voss has been an ad-hoc reviewer for a range of journals, including Behavior, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Behavioral Ecology, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Ecology Letters, Functional Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology, Journal of Avian Biology, PLoS one, Proceedings of The Royal Society, Renewable, Agriculture and Food Systems, Journal of Thermal Biology, and Scientific Reports. She is currently an associate editor for the Journal of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems and has previously served as a book review editor and an officer for the Wilson Ornithological Society. She is an Elective Member and Fellow of the American Ornithological Society. Dr. Voss’s advising expertise is in helping students prepare for post baccalaureate programs in the allied health professions.
Education
Ph.D. Biology, Syracuse University, 2002
Certificate in University Teaching, Future Professoriate Program, Syracuse University, 2002
M.S. Environmental & Forest Biology, SUNY ESF, 1995
Specialization
Metabolism, energy balance, reproductive physiology, and stress physiology
Research Focus
Dr. Voss’ research projects examine links between environmental influences (e.g., anthropogenic disturbance, parasite infestation, photoperiod, food availability, dietary components, and substrate availability) and genotypic expression – specifically phenotypic changes in metabolism, reproductive physiology, and the timing of embryonic development. Current projects include:
- Using sustainable agriculture in the Galapagos to control invasive parasites endangering some species of Darwin’s finch
- Using ecological concepts, such as functional diversity, to explore how nutrient adequacy translates from agricultural production to the diet
- Examining how light intensity, wavelength, and photoperiod modify glucose and lipid regulation.This project uses a free-living avian system to model “shift work” under artificially extended photoperiods and to track stress induced changes in the circadian regulation of glucose and lipids.
Courses
NSD 456 – Nutritional Biochemistry I
NSD 466 – Nutritional Biochemistry II
NSD 665 - Metabolism of Micronutrients
NSD 667 - Metabolism of Macronutrients
Recent Publications
* Undergrad student author, ** Grad student author
- Brennan**, N., Bruening, K.S., Burrell, J., and M.A. Voss (2022) Carb Counting: Diet and Diabetes Virtual Laboratory for Students. The American Biology Teacher. 84 (8): 496-502
- Zhang*, W., Rodziewicz, G., Voss, M., and S. Lane (2022) Historical Trauma and Epigenetics. Chapter 11, The SAGE Handbook of Social Studies in Health and Medicine. Scrimshaw, S., Lane, S., Rubinstein, R. & Fisher, J. (eds.). Second ed. SAGE Publications Ltd, pp 197-215, ISBN: 9781526440662
- Bulgarella, M., Knutie, S., Voss, M.A., Cunninghame, F., Florence-Bennett, B., Robson, G., Keyzers, R., Taylor, L., Lester, P., Heimpel, G. and C. Causton (2020) Sub-lethal effects of permethrin exposure on a passerine: Implications for managing ectoparasites in wild bird nests. Conservation Physiology 8 (1), https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa076
- Voss, M.A., and M. Pavia. (2018) Avian Anatomy, Chapter 6 (pp129-172), Ornithology: Foundation, Critique, and Application, M.L. Morrison, A.D. Rodewald, G. Voelker, J.F. Prather, and M.R. Colón, Editors, Johns Hopkins U. Press, 106 pp, ISBN-13: 9781421424712
- Swaddle, J.P., Francis, C.D., Barber, J.B., Cooper, C.B., Kyba, C.C.M., Dominoni, D.M., Shannon, G., Aschehoug, E., Goodwin, S.E., Kawahara, A. Y, Luther, D., Spoelstra, K., Voss, M., and T. Longcore (2015) A framework to assess evolutionary responses to anthropogenic light and sound. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 30 (9): 550–560; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2015.06.009Voss, M.A., and M. Pavia. (2018) Avian Anatomy, Chapter 6 (pp129-172), Ornithology: Foundation, Critique, and Application, M.L. Morrison, A.D. Rodewald, G. Voelker, J.F. Prather, and M.R. Colón, Editors, Johns Hopkins U. Press, 106 pp, ISBN-13: 9781421424712