Kyle S. Burger, PhD, MPH, RD
News — PHILADELPHIA (March 3, 2025) – The welcomes who starts March 17, 2025. He is currently Professor and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). Dr. Burger will lead a human neuroimaging laboratory that studies neural, behavioral, and perceptual responses to food and eating.
“We are all looking forward to Kyle’s imminent arrival and integrating his novel approach to studying the neuroscience of food choice,” said Monell Executive Director and President . “His combined methods from sensory science, physiology, psychology, and neuroeconomics are at the forefront of sensory nutrition.”
Dr. Burger will also collaborate with the MindCORE Center for Outreach, Research, and Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
“My fundamental approach to sensory science is to ask, ‘How will what I’m eating now affect decisions of what I will buy and eat in the future?’ ” said Dr. Burger. “My expertise is scaling up preclinical animal studies to humans, primarily using functional MRI. I’m excited about this opportunity to collaborate with Monell scientists to contribute to sensory research that extends from cells to society.”
Dr. Burger's work focuses on these key areas:
The cyclical nature of eating behavior, learning, and the brain’s reward system
Dr. Burger examines how individual differences in eating behavior can predict overeating and how these ingestive behaviors alter neural functioning, future eating behavior, and the perception of food.
Early-life risk factors for atypical eating behavior
To better understand how to give babies the best nutritional start in life, the Burger lab studies eating behavior in the mother-child dyad during the first 1,800 days of life through adolescence. Initial exposure to many types of foods occurs during this critical time, which provides insight into individual patterns of food preference. Dr. Burger and colleagues are currently in year nine of a 10-year prospective study, starting from the mother’s first trimester of pregnancy through the child’s seventh year.
Physiology, pharmacology, and satiation
Certain medicines affect individual variability in satiation and interoception – how the body responds to internal sensations, such as hunger. The Burger lab measures the impact of acute doses of Bromocriptine, a dopamine promoter, on how the brain responds to different tastes and eating behaviors. Bromocriptine is used to treat Parkinson’s disease and too-high levels of the hormone prolactin in the body.
Dr. Burger has authored over 130 publications and presentations in peer-reviewed journals, reviews, book chapters, invited seminars, and conference presentations. He has also obtained consistent funding from the National Institutes of Health over the last 15-plus years, most recently, on how highly processed foods change brain reward circuitry and food-cue learning differences and how this relates to an individual’s risk for obesity.
He has received numerous honors and recognitions: he is a long-time member of Delta Omega, the national honorary society for graduate studies in public health. He has also received a Junior Faculty Development Award from UNC-CH, a Junior Faculty Development Award from the American Diabetes Association, and a Basic Science Abstract Award for Excellence in Obesity Research by The Obesity Society.
Dr. Burger is a dedicated educator to scientists in training, from postdoctoral fellows to high school lab volunteers. He has also taught summer and LinkedIn Learning classes in mentorship and inclusivity. His leadership and service roles include commitments to his university community, professional societies, and peer-reviewed journals.
He obtained his PhD in Nutritional Sciences at Colorado State University/University of Colorado – Denver, his Masters of Public Health, Behavioral Sciences and Health Promotion from San Diego State University, and his RD (registered dietitian) from Tulane University. He studied at the Oregon Research Institute for his postdoctoral research, after which he became a faculty member at UNC-CH, reaching the rank of Full Professor.
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About Monell Chemical Senses Center
The is an independent nonprofit research institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1968, with a mission to advance and share discoveries in the science of the chemical senses of smell, taste, chemesthesis, and interoception to solve many of the world’s health, societal, and environmental challenges.
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