Cameron Villareal earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2018 from Texas A&M University and his master's degree in biomedical engineering (BME) in 2020 from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is now a PhD student in BME at Purdue, where his thesis focuses on the interaction between the gut microbiome and systemic inflammation and joint health in an animal research model. This fall, he will deliver a seminar on this topic at Case Western Reserve University. In his future work, he will delve into human performance characteristics and develop a predictive model to inform precision nutrition. For his research on sodium MRI in skeletal radiology, he has published a first-author manuscript with more to follow. He has presented two first-author abstracts at the Orthopedic Research Society's national conference and one at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine conference. In summer 2025, Villareal served as a STEM instructor in the High School High Scholars program, and in fall 2025, he plans to complete the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity Faculty Success Program. Locally, he has volunteered with the Super Saturday program and Imagination Station — both STEM-driven enrichment initiatives. He believes that visible contributions, cultural appreciation, and relationship-building are vital for success in academia, and he aims to blaze a path that those who come after him can follow.

Research Interests

Gut Microbiome Influences Inflammation and Joints