Meet Riley Hughes,
 Nutritional Biology Graduate Student and Grad Slam Finalist

Name
Riley Hughes

​Program and Degree
Nutritional Biology, Ph.D. program, 4th year

Research Interests
Personalized Nutrition

Previous Degree(s) and College(s)
Bachelor of Arts, Yale University

Grad Slam Presentation Title
Getting Personal with Nutrition

Describe your presentation style in three words.
Engaging, relatable, and fun.

You're a Grad Slam finalist for the second year in a row. What motivated you to return to the competition?
I think the ability to communicate your research to those outside of your field is very important and I felt that I had room to improve from last year so here we go again...

How has your presentation and your presentation style changed over the past year?
My presentation this year has a slightly different focus than last year's and I hope is more relatable to those in the audience. I don't think my style has changed much over the past year but I tried to keep it fun and engaging.

What initially attracted you to your field of study?
I love to eat and I am an athlete so I wanted to learn more about nutrition to optimize my health and performance.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to cook and bake, read, go hiking/camping, travel, and just hang out with friends.

If you could invite one person (from any point in history) to sit in the audience and view your presentation at the March 13 Final Round, who would it be and why?
Maybe Eran Segal. He is a co-author on one of my favorite papers on prediction of personalized response to diet and he has a great TED Talk so I'd love to get feedback from him on communicating this kind of research and maybe see if he knows of any good job opportunities...

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully I'll have a job somewhere warm doing nutrition research, in either personalized nutrition or sports nutrition.

About Grad Slam

UC Grad Slam is an annual contest in which master’s and Ph.D. students across UC campuses – in disciplines ranging from hard sciences to humanities – compete to sum up their research for a general audience. Students should present the significance and fundamental points of their work at UC Davis in a clear, direct, and interesting manner.

Presentations should be no longer than three minutes in length and prepared for a diverse audience comprised of students, faculty, and community members. Judges will strongly consider clarity and effectiveness of the presentation by a general university audience. Learn more by visiting the Grad Slam webpage.

About Graduate Studies

Graduate Studies at UC Davis includes over 100 dynamic degree programs and a diverse and interactive student body from around the world. Known for our state-of-the-art research facilities, productive laboratories and progressive spirit – UC Davis offers collaborative and interdisciplinary curricula through graduate groups and designated emphasis options, bringing students and faculty of different academic disciplines together to address real-world challenges.

UC Davis graduate students and postdoctoral scholars become leaders in their fields: researchers, teachers, politicians, mentors and entrepreneurs. They go on to guide, define and impact change within our global community.

For information on Graduate Studies’ current strategic initiatives, visit the Graduate Studies strategic plan page.