How the brain responds to nourishment
Sabrina Diano studies how the brain senses nutrients and helps regulate metabolism and behaviour. As director of Columbia’s Institute of Human Nutrition, she brings together questions from neuroscience, nutrition, endocrinology and cell biology. Her interest in how living systems work grew through biology at school and the study of physiology.
When an experiment makes you reconsider
When asked about self-doubt, Diano describes the uncertainty of choosing research questions and testing ideas—especially when experiments fail. She contrasts those difficult days with the excitement of a result that works.
A follow-up about senior roles
Discussing women in her field, Diano distinguishes career levels: seeing many women among assistant professors is different from seeing them among full professors. Women in leadership can make a future role easier to imagine. She also speaks about guilt over competing demands at work and at home.
Room for a changing path
Diano wishes her younger self had known that a career need not follow a straight line or be fully planned in advance. She encourages persistence while also asking whether the work still brings enjoyment.