About Us
At O'Brien Laboratory, we are dedicated to advancing the understanding of mineral absorption and metabolism in infants, children, and pregnant and lactating women. Meet our incredible team!
Kimberly O'Brien, PhD
Kimberly O’Brien is a Professor of Human Nutrition in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. She received her B.S. in Biology from the University of New Hampshire and her PhD in Nutrition from the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Her professional training included fellowships with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Laboratory of Theoretical and Physical Biology/Section for Metabolic Analysis and Mass Spectrometry, and the Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine. Professor O'Brien joined the faculty in the Division of Nutritional Sciences after working for 10 years as a faculty member in the Center of Human Nutrition at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Professor O’Brien’s research has centered on studies designed to better understand mineral metabolism and bone health in infants, children, and pregnant and lactating women in both developed and developing countries. To address issues of calcium metabolism, she has undertaken metabolic studies in groups including children from osteoporotic families, pregnant and lactating adolescents, and children with chronic diseases such as cystic fibrosis and HIV infection. Her current research focuses on the impact of adolescent pregnancy, particularly among minority populations, on maternal and fetal bone health, risk of anemia, and maternal and neonatal vitamin D and iron physiology. Partitioning of nutrients between the mother and fetus is addressed at the cellular level by assessing placental mineral transporters in relation to maternal and neonatal status.
Phone: (607) 255-3743
Yaqin Xu, MD, PhD
Research Associate, Lab Manager
Dr. Xu graduated as MD from TongJi Medical College, and received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Peking Union Medical College. She had her postdoctoral training and became an Instructor at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Xu joined Professor O'Brien's lab in November 2021 as the Lab Manager overseeing laboratory operations and instructing students. Dr. Xu likes hiking, running, boating, and cooking. She is also active in Boy Scouts of Troop 55 as an assistant scoutmaster.
Clara Yongjoo Park, PhD
Associate Professor, Visiting Scientist
Clara Y. Park is an Associate Professor in the Division of Food and Nutrition, Chonnam National University (CNU) and visiting scholar in the O’Brien lab (Feb, 2023 – Feb, 2024). CNU is one of the ten Flagship Korean National Universities and located in Gwangju, Korea. Professor Park received her BS at Seoul National University, Korea and PhD at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. She continued her training as a post-doctoral researcher at Purdue University and Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea before joining the faculty of CNU in 2016. Her primary research area is mineral metabolism during different life stages including pregnancy and lactation, with a focus on nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, and iron, and health outcomes including bone health and osteoarthritis. Her secondary research interest focuses on diet assessment in centenarians and various populations and validation of these techniques.
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students
Lab Outings
Fun group activities over the years!
MEET OUR HONORARY LAB MEMBERS!
COCO
MURPHY
NICK
SOLAR AND ECLIPSE
