Table of Contents

From Here, It's Possible

New Programs Launched at NMHI

The Nutrition & Metabolic Health Initiative (NMHI) has started 2 new programs: TEMPO partial meal replacement program and TTU Optifast total meal replacement program. The TEMPO program offers the community expertly guided weight management, through an initially highly structured meal plan that transitions to a more flexible plan as you successfully lose weight. It offers brief, time-efficient individual appointments that fit into your busy schedule. The 16-week TEMPO program starts with a highly structured meal plan that mixes both real food with the use of medical meal replacement shakes and bars to replace part of the meals. The program also provides motivational (Health Coaching) support to help to overcome the obstacles. Over time, the TEMPO program helps people to make better food choices and make sure the "food quality of life" is maintained for long term comfort and weight loss success.

The TTU Optifast total meal replacement program is a unique and healthy total meal replacement program, designed for people with a significant amount of weight to lose. Based on the science-based proven Optifast medical meal replacement programs, the experts at Texas Tech have developed a comprehensive weight management approach. This is a 30-week program that starts with 12-weeks of complete meal replacement by using Optifast products (shakes and bars). The TTU Optifast program also provides weekly lifestyle-focused educational lessons (group/individual) help to teach and motivate people to change overall lifestyle as it contributes to health and weight!

Learn more at www.nmhi.ttu.edu. Or call (806) 742-NMHI (6644).

Department Announcements

Ceremony to Congratulate Fall 2018 Graduates of the Department

• The Graduation Celebration of the Nutritional Sciences Department was held on December 14, 2018. It was a great opportunity to honor our M.S. and Ph.D. Graduates!
  Ph.D. Candidates: Yujiao Zu, Kembra Albracht-Schulte
  M.S. Candidates: Catherine Arcaro, Danielle Beaudoin, Santiago Capetillo-Gutierrez, Stephen Gilmore, Nadia Gonzalez, Tori Greenway, Elena Hannush, Arturo Jaime, Keji Kolawole, Kati Macha, Taylor McClelland, Analicia Mireles, Hannah Pfohl, Katie Russo, Jackson Scharf, Cassidy Turner, Kat Vietti, Madalyn Wieberg

Department of Nutritional Sciences at the 18th Graduate Student Poster Competition

• Graduate students in the Department of Nutritional Sciences participated in the 18th Graduate Student Poster Competition on March 26, 2019 at Student Union Building and presented 12 posters!

 

 

TTU Dietetic Students Received Scholarships from Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation

• Six TTU dietetic students received scholarships from the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation with a total amount of $5,500!
• Scholarship winners:
  Graduate Students: Kimberly Brown and Jannin Macias.
  Undergraduate students: Stephani Clevenger, Keyra Hernandez, Lauren Lund, and Anna Salazar.

NMHI Research

Research study: 16-Week Weight Loss Program

• Seeking research subjects for 16-week weight loss study. Total possible compensation of $310. ALL learn practical weight loss strategies. Some receive FDA approved medicine for weight loss.
• Study is approximately 18 total weeks including screening. One 20-minute telephone eligibility screen. One 60 min initial in-person assessment. Three approximately 6.5-hour in-person assessment sessions. Eight 25-minute in-person check in visits.
• Call/email if interested: 806-742-5194, bmtrlab@ttu.edu.

Research Study: Comfort during moderate exercise

• Attend ONE Appointment; Get free body composition assessment PLUS additional total possible compensation of $20. If you do not regularly exercise more than 150 minutes per week, you may be eligible.
• For more information contact the BMTR lab. Email: bmtrlab@ttu.edu Phone: 806.742.5194

Master's Thesis and Doctoral Dissertations

• Sanjoy Saha
  • Degree: PhD
  • Defense Date: February 18, 2019
  • Dissertation Title: Effects of a nutrition education intervention with or without a school garden on selected factors that influence dietary behavior of fruit and vegetable consumption among elementary school children in Lubbock, Texas
  • Dissertation Committee: Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron (Committee Chair), Dr. Mary Murimi, Dr. John Dawson, Dr. Sara Dodd, and Dr. Conrad Lyford
• Ziaul Hassan Rana
  • Degree: PhD
  • Defense Date: February 22, 2019
  • Dissertation Title: Analyses of national and local data to determine associations in separate child and adult samples: Examining predictors of stunting among 24 to 59 month old children in Bangladesh and interrogating associations of weight history and attempts to lose/manage weight in West Texas, USA
  • Dissertation Committee: Dr. John Dawson (Committee Chair), Dr. Debra Reed, Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron, Dr. Malinda Colwell, and Dr. Conrad Lyford
• Maliha Tabassum Munir
  • Degree: PhD
  • Defense Date: March 1, 2019
  • Dissertation Title: Vitamin D3 Regulates Breast Cancer Cell and Macrophage function in the Tumor Microenvironment
  • Dissertation Committee: Dr. Shaikh Rahman (Committee Chair), Dr. Fazle Hussain, Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa, Dr. Min Kang, Dr. Vijay Hegde
• Makenzie Miller
  • Degree: MS
  • Defense Date: March 21, 2019
  • Thesis Title: Nutrition education needs assessment of farmers market participants in Lubbock, Texas
  • Thesis Committee: Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron (Committee Chair), Dr. John Dawson, and Dr. Oak-Hee Park
• Hyunjung Lee
  • Degree: MS
  • Defense Date: March 26, 2019
  • Thesis Title: The association between food insecurity, poor hygiene conditions, and child undernutrition among pastoral households in the Somali region, Ethiopia
  • Thesis Committee: Dr. Mary Murimi (Committee Chair), Dr. John Dawson, and Dr. Leslie Thompson
• Wei-Lin Huang
  • Degree: MS
  • Defense Date: March 28, 2019
  • Thesis Title: Pilot Study Comparing 2 Types of Behavioral Intervention to Reduce Sedentary Behavior: Impact on Psychosocial, Behavioral, Anthropometric, and Medical Outcomes
  • Thesis Committee: Dr. Martin Binks (Committee Chair), Dr. John Dawson, and Dr. Vijay Hegde
• Rufus Theophilus
  • Degree: MS
  • Defense Date: March 28, 2019
  • Thesis Title: The Development of Complementary Food For Food Insecure Infants in Malawi
  • Thesis Committee: Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron (Committee Chair), Dr. Markus Miller, and Dr. John Dawson

Lab Updates

Behavioral Medicine & Translational Research Lab (Dr. Binks)

• Graduate students Sharmin Akter and Wei-Lin Huang have 2 accepted abstracts and the abstracts will be presented at Nutrition 2019 (annual scientific meeting of ASN).
• Graduate students Sharmin Akter and Wei-Lin Huang presented 2 posters at the 18th Annual Graduate School Poster Competition.
• Undergraduate student Hannah Olvera has two accepted abstracts and the abstracts will be presented at the 11th Texas Tech University Undergraduate Research Conference (TTU URC).
• New member:
  • Vera Tidwell joined the BMTR Lab in December 2018. Vera is a pre-med undergraduate student who studying in nutritional sciences. She plans to return to the small farming community she grew up in after completing medical school. Vera is passionate about understanding the impact nutrition has on people's lives and discovering solutions in order to help them reach their health goals. Vera is a student provider at the Nutrition and Metabolic Health Initiative and a research student in the Department of Nutritional Sciences.
• Research subject needed: Free Body Fat Assessment & up to $20 Compensation for Research Study. Call/email if interested: 806-742-5194, bmtrlab@ttu.edu.

Back to Top

Student Achievements

• Mehrnaz Abbasi, Ph.D. student
  • Received Graduate Student Research Support Award for Spring 2019 (STEM) from Texas Tech University.
• Bong Nguyen, Ph.D. student
  • Received Graduate Student Research Support Award for Spring 2019 (STEM) from Texas Tech University.
• Hyunjung Lee, M.S. student
  • Received Global Vision Student International Research Award from the Office of International Affairs of Texas Tech University.

Back to Top

Faculty Achievements

• Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar
  • Received the award for Faculty Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity from Texas Tech University.
  • Appointed to The Obesity Society's Awards Committee.
• Dr. Andrew C. Shin
  • Appointed as the Director of Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Core in Nutritional Sciences.
  • Received the Open Access Initiative Award from Texas Tech University Office of Research & Innovation.

Back to Top

Funding

• Title: Does egg consumption have cognitive and neural benefits in food insecure, at-risk adolescents?
  • Funding Source: The American Egg Board / Egg Nutrition Center (USDA)
  • Total Amount: $20,000
  • Principal Investigators: Martin Binks
• Title: Mechanisms mediating synergistic anti-inflammatory effects of tart cherry anthocyanins and omega 3 fatty acids in obesity.
  • Funding Source: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
  • Total Amount: $500,000
  • Principal Investigators: Naima Moustaid-Moussa
  • Co-Investigators: Latha Ramalingam, John A. Dawson
• Title: Therapeutic potential of DNAJB3/HSP-40 as a novel biomarker for obesity-induced insulin resistance and diabetes.
  • Funding Source: Qatar Foundation
  • Total Amount: $ 147,514
  • Principal Investigators: Naima Moustaid-Moussa
• Title: BCA2's modulation of NF-κB and its role in proviral latency.
  • Funding Source: NIAID/NIH R21
  • Total Amount: $397,798
  • Principal Investigators: Ruth Serra-Moreno
  • Co-Investigators: Shu Wang
• Title: Burning fat by nanoparticles for obesity treatment (FatBuringNanoTM).
  • Funding Source: National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Total Amount: $50,000
  • Principal Investigators: Shu Wang
  • Entrepreneurial Lead: Yujiao Zu
  • I-Corps Team Mentor: Lena Zappia
  • Technical Lead: Shu Wang
• Title: Reward-related gene expression changes in the ventral tegmental area of HF-fed mice after RYGB surgery.
  • Funding Source: College of Human Sciences, Texas Tech University
  • Total Amount: $750
  • Principal Investigators: Andrew C. Shin
• Title: Repurposing a compound to treat Alzheimer's disease.
  • Funding Source: National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Total Amount: $3,000
  • Principal Investigators: Andrew C. Shin

Back to Top

Publications and Invited Lectures

Students' Oral Presentations

• Hyunjung Lee, Mary Murimi, Abdulaziz Ibrahim, Anbissa Muleta, Natnael Tadesse, Seile Yohannes. The association between food insecurity, poor hygiene conditions, and child undernutrition in Ethiopia. Proceedings of the 16th Ann. Global Health & Innovation Conference; 2019 Apr; Yale University, New Haven, CT.

Students' Posters

• Olvera HE, Huang W, Dawson JA, Hegde V, Binks M. The Effect of Reducing Sedentary Behavior on Stress and Anthropometric Outcomes: A Pilot Study. The 11th Annual TTU Undergraduate Research Conference; 2019 Apr; Lubbock, TX.
• Olvera HE, Chin S, Kahathuduwa C, Davis T, Binks M. Lower Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) is Associated with Less Fat Mass Reduction During Initial Weight Loss: Implications for Early Intervention. The 11th Annual TTU Undergraduate Research Conference; 2019 Apr; Lubbock, TX.
• Dawson JA, Rana Z, Huang W-L. Systematic Review of the Addictiveness of Sugar. Annual Scientific Sessions of The Obesity Society at Obesity Week 2018, Nov 2018; Nashville, TN.
• Hyunjung Lee, Mary Murimi, Abdulaziz Ibrahim, Anbissa Muleta, Natnael Tadesse. Factors associated with child undernutrition in the Somali region of Ethiopia. The 18th Graduate Student Poster Competition; 2019 March; Lubbock, TX.

Professors' Posters

• Ruiz Sl, Redelfs AH, Perez D, Dhurandhar NV, Atkinson RL, Whigham LD. Perceptions of calorie content of food components, but not mixed meals, are more accurate in dietetic professionals vs other professionals. Annual Scientific Sessions of The Obesity Society at Obesity Week 2018, Nashville, TN; 2018.
• Harkins C, Patkar PP, Berthoud HR, Shin AC. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery restores reward-related genes in the mesolimbic pathway in diet-induced obese mice. The 11th Annual TTU Undergraduate Research Conference; 2019 Apr; Lubbock, TX.

Journal Articles

• Akheruzzaman M, Hegde V, Dhurandhar NV. Twenty‐five years of research about adipogenic adenoviruses: A systematic review. Obesity Reviews. 2019; 20: 499– 509. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12808
• Shastri AA, Hegde V, Peddibhotla S, Feizy Z, Dhurandhar NV. E4orf1: A Protein for Enhancing Glucose Uptake Despite Impaired Proximal Insulin Signaling. PLoS ONE 2018;13(12):e0208427.
• Misra A and Dhurandhar NV. Current formula for calculating body mass index is applicable to Asian populations. Nutr Diabetes 2019 Jan 28;9(1):3. doi: 10.1038/s41387-018-0070-9.
• Gamage S, Reddy PH, Dhurandhar NV, Hegde V. Potential Role of E4orf1 Protein in Aging-associated Impairement in Glycemic Control. J of Diabetes and Its Complications. 2018. pii: S1056-8727(18)31022-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2018.11.006
• Patkar PP, Hao Z, Mumphrey MB, Townsend BL, Berthoud HR, Shin AC. Unlike calorie restriction, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery does not increase hypothalamic AgRP and NPY in mice on a high-fat diet. International Journal of Obesity – Nature, 2019 (Accepted; in press)
• Shin AC, MohanKumar SMJ, Balasubramanian P, Sirivelu MP, Linning K, Woolcock A, James M, MohanKumar PS. Responsiveness of HPA axis to leptin is impaired in diet-induced obese rats. Nutrition & Diabetes - Nature, 2018 (Accepted; in press)
• Clark KA, Sirivelu MP, Shin AC, Savage A, MohanKumar R, Maddineni S, Ramachandran R, MohanKumar SM, MohanKumar PS. Neuroendocrine dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetes and the effect of leptin lentiviral vector transfection. Scientific Reports – Nature, 2019 (submitted)

Back to Top

In the Media

Students

Md Akheruzzaman, Ph.D. student

• ConscienHealth on January 8, 2019 entitled "25 Years of Research on Viruses Causing Obesity". https://conscienhealth.org/2019/01/25-years-of-research-on-viruses-causing-obesity/

Professors

Dr. Martin Binks

• NBC News on Jan 26, 2019 entitled '' Why we're so obsessed with rigid diets like keto". https://goo.gl/U8wrwG
• CNN.com on March 7, 2019 entitled '' Do skinny people have faster metabolisms? Not really". https://goo.gl/WZVVqR
• KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on March 29, entitled "Dr. Binks shares some tips on how best to reduce calories". https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/trends-and-friends/dr-binks-shares-some-tips-on-how-best-to-reduce-calories/1886925296

Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar

• The Times of India on December 27, 2018 entitled '' 10 most dependable books on diet and weight loss published in 2018". https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/photo-stories/10-most-dependable-books-on-diet-and-weight-loss-published-in-2018/photostory/67205224.cms
• CNBC TV18 on February 20, 2019 entitled '' The man behind transforming Aamir Khan in Dangal, Dr Nikhil Dhurandhar, thinks obesity is a disease. Here's why". https://www.cnbctv18.com/healthcare/the-man-behind-transforming-aamir-khan-in-dangal-dr-nikhil-dhurandhar-thinks-obesity-is-a-disease-heres-why-2350181.htm
• ConscienHealth on January 8, 2019 entitled "25 Years of Research on Viruses Causing Obesity". https://conscienhealth.org/2019/01/25-years-of-research-on-viruses-causing-obesity/
• ConscienHealth on March 4, 2019 entitled "Myths, Presumptions, and Denying Access to Obesity Care". https://conscienhealth.org/2019/03/myths-presumptions-and-denying-access-to-obesity-care/

Dr. Shu Wang

• Tufts Nutrition entitled "Nine nutrition experts who are doing big things with their Ph.D.s.". http://sites.tufts.edu/nutrition/winter-2019/top-docs/

Dr. Shannon Galyean

• Daily Toreador on January 30, 2019 entitled "Nutrition experts provide insight on fad diets". http://www.dailytoreador.com/news/nutrition-experts-provide-insight-on-fad-diets/article_79faa274-250a-11e9-9055-436dc05a83a7.html
• Daily Toreador on March 20, 2019 entitled "Nutritionists provide advice on foods that help digestion". http://www.dailytoreador.com/news/nutritionists-provide-advice-on-foods-that-help-digestion/article_ef5d6fbc-4b87-11e9-b3f4-67fc34ed666e.html

Dr. Allison Childress

• INSIDER on February 28, 2019 entitled "7 common mistakes you might be making on a high-protein diet". https://www.thisisinsider.com/high-protein-diet-mistakes-2019-2

Nutrition and Metabolic Health Initiative (NMHI)

• KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on March 4, 2019 entitled "Health and wellness options for you at Texas Tech". Dr. Binks provides an overview of the Texas Tech Nutrition and Metabolic Health Initiative (NMHI). https://goo.gl/Ck8oRQ
• KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on March 15, 2019 entitled "TTU's health and wellness programs includes the BODPOD, giving you accurate results". https://goo.gl/ktvQTX

GNO Events

GNO Potluck Dinner and Hot Chocolate Social

The GNO members enjoyed a warm meal and hot chocolate together on November 30, 2018!

Spring Human Sciences Day

GNO participated in Human Sciences Day on January 30, 2019. Human Sciences Day is an event to let attendees to learn more about student resources and the opportunities in College of Human Sciences by interacting with student organizations.

GNO Spring 2019 General Meeting

GNO had the first general meeting of the spring semester on February 7, 2019. The GNO president announced the upcoming events, welcome new members, had volunteering sign-ups, and collected membership payments.

Back to Top

Editor of Nutrition Matters at Texas Tech

• • Editor - Wei-Lin Huang, BS
  • Editorial Assistant – Hannah Olvera, undergraduate student