Welcome to the Beltsville Human Nutrition
Research Center

The Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC) is the largest of USDA's human nutrition research facilities and the home of the first human nutrition research conducted by USDA, dating back to the late 1890's.  Its current program spans the human nutrition and health continuum, from investigating the role of nutrients and food components at the cellular level, to examining the impact of dietary interventions on health in animal and human research, to conducting mission critical surveys to find out what people are eating while supporting an expanded understanding of what's in food.

The mission of the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center is to define, through research, the role of food and its components in optimizing human health and in reducing the risk of nutritionally related disorders in the diverse population.

Scientists at the Center conduct research toward understanding how dietary components interact with genetic, physiological, sociological, and environmental factors and affect the health of the American population so diversified by gender, ethnicity, lifestyle and environment.

Our Laboratories:
Diet, Genomics, and Immunology Laboratory Food Components and Health Laboratory Food Composition and Methods Development Laboratory	Food Intake and Energy Regulation Lab Food Surveys Research Group Nutrient Data Laboratory
Research Programs, Products & Services Human Studies Facility What We Eat in America Survey National Nutrient Database FoodLink MyPyramid Equivalents Database Dietary Sources of Nutrients using USDA Survey Foods Codes Food Commodity Economic Database Porcine Immunology and Nutrition Database Community Nutrition Initiative USDA Food and Nutrition Summer Institute HEALTH Study BHNRC Seminar Series Mailing Address: 10300 Baltimore Avenue Building 307-C, Room 117 BARC-East Beltsville, Maryland 20705 301-504-8157 - phone 301-504-9381 - fax Email:  BHNRCOFFICE@ars.usda.gov Director's Office: Dr. Allison Yates, Director allison.yates@ars.usda.gov Dr. Ellen Harris, Asst. Director ellen.harris@ars.usda.gov Home Page: www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc