Tyler Becker, PhD CSCS is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition and a Nutrition Specialist for Extension. He currently co-teaches HNF 250 (Contemporary Issues in Human Nutrition) and teaches HNF 385 (Public Health Nutrition) during the fall semester; teaches HNF 250L (Professional Development and Career Planning in Nutrition) and HNF 485 (Advanced Public Health Nutrition) during the spring semester; and teaches HNF 102 (Dietary Supplements: Evidence vs Hype) and HNF 385 (Public Health Nutrition) during the summer semesters. Additionally, he serves as the Nutritional Sciences Experiential Learning Coordinator during the spring and summer semesters. At Michigan State University, he has developed five undergraduate courses including the Nutritional Sciences Experiential Learning program. In his Extension role, he works on a variety of projects including curriculum development and evaluation. His expertise includes exercise science, strength and conditioning, rural public health, professional development, and sports nutrition. Tyler is currently the chairperson for the Nutritional Sciences Curriculum Committee, and recently published an article with his colleagues describing the use of backward design in redesigning he Nutritional Sciences undergraduate program. In addition, he actively seeks further education in higher education curriculum development and delivery, including the completion of the Micro-Credential in Online College Teaching at Michigan State University.
Tyler earned his undergraduate degree in Exercise and Health Science from Alma College where he studied the effects of a single dosage of beta-alanine on exercise performance; a Masters in Exercise Science from Central Michigan University with a research emphasis on cardiovascular disease risk factors and aerobic capacity among children with smoking parents; and a PhD in Human Nutrition from Michigan State University where he compared cardiovascular disease risk factors and nutrition behaviors between rural and urban children cross-sectionally and following a health intervention. Furthermore, he earned an Epidemiology Certificate from Michigan State University. Tyler has a variety of research interests and has published in undergraduate curriculum development, sports nutrition curricula, and rural nutrition and physical activity behaviors.