PepsiCo Funds New Fellowship in Nutritional Science

New Haven, Conn. — PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, will fund a graduate fellowship in the M.D.-Ph.D. Program at Yale School of Medicine to support research related to nutritional science.

PepsiCo has also opened a long-term research laboratory in Science Park, which will focus on the development of healthier food and beverage products that can improve people’s overall diets.

The endowment established by PepsiCo in the School of Medicine’s M.D.-Ph.D. Program will specifically fund work that focuses on nutritional research, such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and obesity. PepsiCo Fellows will be chosen by the Yale program’s faculty based on academic performance and research interests in these relevant areas. This fellowship aims to create a pipeline of new biomedical scholars who will progress to leadership positions in their fields.

“PepsiCo’s commitment to improving health through proper nutrition is of great importance to the well-being of people in this country and throughout the world. We are delighted that they are expanding their research in this area and that they have chosen Yale as a partner for this endeavor,” said Dr. Robert Alpern, dean and the Ensign Professor at Yale School of Medicine. “Extending this partnership to the M.D.-Ph.D. Program represents a visionary investment in one of the finest researcher training programs in the world and thus to the future of science.”

The M.D.-Ph.D. Program at Yale University was established in 1969 and graduated its first students in 1973. The dual-degree program is meant to provide pre-doctoral trainees with a broad exposure to human biology and medicine, and to an in-depth and rigorous training in one of the scholarly disciplines relevant to medicine.

PepsiCo has the world’s largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Its main businesses — Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade — serve consumers in over 200 countries. Through its Performance with Purpose initiative, PepsiCo is working to offer a broad array of choices for healthy and convenient nourishment, reduce its environmental impact, and foster a diverse and inclusive workplace culture.