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From Here, It's Possible

Student Spotlight: Shao-Hua Chin is a Ph.D. candidate and recipient of the TTU Dissertation Completion Scholarship in the BMTR (Behavioral Medicine and Translational Research) Lab in the TTU NS Department. She also serves as the founding editor of TTU NS Department Newsletter since January 2015, a mentor in the Lauro Cavazos & Ophelia Powell-Malone Mentoring Program (Mentor Tech), and one of the two Student Vice Presidents for Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Chapter of Texas Tech. Shao-Hua came to TTU to work with Dr. Martin Binks to gain experience and training in obesity and translational research. Her research is focused on understanding how pain, discomfort, and enjoyment relate to weight status and diet quality. She is currently running a clinical trial recruiting over 130 people.

Shao-Hua's experiences and achievements have truly made her stand out. Shao-Hua published 6 manuscripts last year including the first author on 2 separate exercise-related review papers and 1 original research manuscript from a clinical trial. She is involved in the development of 2 NIH grant proposals and 4 separate human research protocols. She is also the primary student involved in metabolic and body composition testing and is training her peers in these skills. Shao-Hua is also contributing substantially in coordinating both clinical and research efforts at the Nutrition and Metabolic Health Initiative (NMHI) where she oversees safety and compliance, scheduling, student and collaborator training and is be one of the students who will deliver clinical services (e.g., body composition measurement and metabolic testing) to the community in our fee for service program offerings. As much as she has accomplished, Shao-Hua is still very much in high gear! In addition to all these responsibilities she has elevated to be a strong leader and role model for her fellow grad students, is finishing her dissertation, mentors undergrad students for their undergrad scholar projects. Shao-Hua plans to graduate in Summer 2018. Her ultimate goal is to become an independent researcher for translational nutrition sciences.

Email BMTR Lab at bmtrlab@ttu.edu if you want to participate in their exercise study and receive a free body composition report PLUS up to $20!

Department Announcements

Majors and Minors Fair

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Ashlee Taylor

• • Degree: Ph.D.
  • Defense Date: September 11, 2017
  • Dissertation Title: Assessment of the Mobile Jump2HealthTM Intervention to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Children Ages 3 – 8
  • Dissertation Committee: Dr. Debra Reed (Committee Chair), Dr. Malinda Colwell, Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron, Dr. Susan Mengel Dr. Shu Wang, and Dr. Barent McCool

Jordan George

• • Degree: M.S.
  • Defense Date: October 20, 2017
  • Thesis Title: Resting Metabolic rate, Appetite Regulators, & Food Record Accuracy in Food Addiction.
  • Dissertation Committee: Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar, Dr. John Dawson, and Dr. Allison Childress

Lab Updates

Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron's Community Nutrition Lab

New Members:

• Makenzie Miller is a first-year master's student in Dr. Wilna's Community Nutrition lab. She attended Texas Tech for her undergraduate studies and graduated with a major in Food Science and minor in Nutrition and Chemistry in May 2017. Makenzie's interest in Community Nutrition grew through the study abroad program with Dr. Oldewage-Theron and Dr. Murimi in South Africa. Her master thesis research work will involve nutrition education, with an emphasis on the incorporation of anthocyanins in the diet.
• Li-Ling Peng joined the Community Nutrition Lab as a PhD student. She obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Nutritional Sciences from Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan and worked as a clinical dietitian before she came to US for her graduate degrees. She graduated from Fontbonne University, Missouri in multidisciplinary health communication studies. Li-Ling Peng is an Adjunct Faculty at Logan University in Missouri. Her dissertation research will focus on nutrition education for preventing obesity in adolescents.

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Student Achievements

• Ziaul Hasan Rana, Ph.D. student
  
  • Received the AT&T Chancellor's Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Yasaman Jamshidinaeini, Ph.D. student
  • Received the AT&T Chancellor's Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Bong Thi Nguyen, Ph.D. student
  • Received the AT&T Chancellor's Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
  • Selected as the November 2017 Graduate Student of The Month in the College of Human Sciences. 
• Md Akheruzzaman, Ph.D. student
  • Received the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Kembra Albracht, Ph.D. student
  • Received the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Shahjalal Khan, Ph.D. student
  • Received the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Upasana Mukherjee, Ph.D. student
  • Received the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Li-Ling Peng, Ph.D. student
  • Received the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Rufus James Theophilus, M.S. student
  • Received the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Yaqiong Zhu, Ph.D. student
  • Received the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Hyunjung Lee, M.S. student
  • Received The CH Foundation Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Ana Moyeda Carabaza, M.S. student
  • Received The American Mexican Friendship -- Waterman Scholarship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Kalhara Menikdiwela, Ph.D. student
  • Received The Covenant Health and Social Services Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Chathurika Dhanasekara, Ph.D. student
  • Received The Helen DeVitt Jones Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Ashlee Taylor, Ph.D. student
  • Received The Helen DeVitt Jones Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• London Allen, M.S. student
  • Received The United Supermarkets Graduate Fellowship from TTU Graduate School for 2017-2018 school year.
• Maya Takano, undergraduate student
  • Selected as the November 2017 Undergraduate Student of The Month in the College of Human Sciences. 
• Sharmin Akter, M.S. student
  • Received the TTU Nutritional Science General HS Scholarship for Fall 2017.

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Faculty Awards

• Dr. Allison Childress
  
  • Selected as a fellow for in the Texas Tech University President's Leadership Institute 2017-2018.
• Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar
  • 'Celebration of Faculty Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity' awarded by TTU on October 27, 2017.
• Dr. Shu Wang
  • 'Celebration of Faculty Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity' awarded by TTU on October 27, 2017.
• Dr. Martin Binks
  • Awarded 2017 Open Access Award through the Faculty Research Committee at the Texas Tech University Libraries. The award is designed to recognize faculty members' commitment to open access.
  • Received funding from the Open Access Publication Initiative of the VPR Office to make the manuscript entitled 'Effects of 3-week total meal replacement vs. typical food-based diet on human brain functional magnetic resonance imaging food-cue reactivity and functional connectivity in people with obesity' have open access.

Research Funding

• Title: Plaque-targeted nanocarriers for atherosclerosis diagnosis and treatment.
  • Funding Source: 2017 TTU System Presidents' Collaborative Research Initiative
  • Total Amount: $44,553
  • Principal Investigators: Shu Wang
  • Co-Investigators: Scott Shurmur, Zhaoyang Fan

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Patents, Publications, Invited Lectures and Boards

Patent Applications

• Martin Binks
  • Methods that reduce food cravings, promote weight loss, and/or treat overweight or obesity. International Patent application has been filed under number PCT/EP17/074671 28 September 2017 claiming priority from the US provisional application 62/401,568.

Professors' Oral Presentations

• Hegde V, Peddibhotla S, Shastri A, Das B, Dhurandhar NV. Translation of Hypoglycemic Activity of an Adenoviral Protein to a Potential Anti-diabetic Drug. Annual Scientific Sessions of The Obesity Society at Obesity Week 2017, Washington, DC; 2017.

Students' Posters

• Gamage S, Peddibhotla S, Reddy H, Dhurandhar NV, Hegde V. Improvement in Glycemic Control In Mice of Different Age Groups. Annual Scientific Sessions of The Obesity Society at Obesity Week 2017, Washington, DC; 2017.
• Munir MT, Santos JM, Khan ZS, Tarafdar KR, Hussain F, Rahman SM. Vitamin D3 Inhibits Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, Stemness and Cell Migration in Breast Cancer. Annual Scientific Sessions of The Obesity Society at Obesity Week 2017, Washington, DC; 2017.

Professors' Posters

• Dhurandhar NV, Kaplan LM, Kyle TK, Auerbach P, Stevenin B, Golden A. Predictors Of Weight Loss Outcomes In Obesity Care. Annual Scientific Sessions of The Obesity Society at Obesity Week 2017, Washington, DC; 2017.
• Dawson JA, Amin MR. Association of BMI With Bias and Error in Visual Analog Scales and Other Self-Report Measures. Annual Scientific Sessions of The Obesity Society at Obesity Week 2017, Washington, DC; 2017.

Journal Articles

• Dhurandhar NV, Binks M. When to eat! Am J Clin Nutr. 2017 Nov;106(5):1171-1172. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.117.167759. Epub 2017 Oct 11. (invited editorial)
• Dhurandhar EJ, Dhurandhar NV. Obesity management. Florida Family Physician Journal. 2017; 66 (3): 8-11.
• Chang HJ, Reed D, McCool B. An Exploration of Body Image Perceptions and Education Needs of Military Parents of Preschool Children. Military Behavioral Health. 2017; 5(4): 356-63. https://goo.gl/2HF6xK
• Li S, Warzywoda J, Wang S, Ren G, Fan Z. Bacterial cellulose derived carbon nanofiber aerogel with lithium polysulfide catholyte for lithiumesulfur batteries. Carbon. 2017; 124: 212-218.
• Chung E, Mo H, Wang S, Zu Y, Rios SR, Elfakhani M, Chyu MC, Yang RS, Shen CL. Potential roles of vitamin E in age-associated change in skeletal muscle health. Nutrition Research. (in press)
• Kahathuduwa CN, Davis T, O'Boyle M, Boyd LA, Chin S, Paniukov D, Binks M. Effects of 3-week total meal replacement vs. typical food-based diet on human brain functional magnetic resonance imaging food-cue reactivity and functional connectivity in people with obesity. Appetite. 2017 Sep 25. pii: S0195-6663(17)30776-6. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.09.025. [Epub ahead of print]
• Chin S, Kahathuduwa CN, Stearns BM, Davis T, Binks M. Is hunger important to model in fMRI visual food-cue reactivity paradigms in adults with obesity and how should this be done? Appetite. 2017 Sep 27. pii: S0195-6663(17)30036-3. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.09.012. [Epub ahead of print]
• Kahathuduwa CN, Dhanasekara CS, Chin SH, Davis, T, Weerasinghe VS, Dassanayake TL, Binks M. L-Theanine and caffeine improve target-specific attention to visual stimuli by decreasing mind wandering: a human functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Nutrition Research. (in press)

Invited Lectures by Professors

• Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa
  
  • The TTUHSC Regional Dean's Symposium. 'Frontiers in Obesity'. Odessa TX. September 30, 2017. https://goo.gl/P9j8SM
• Dr. Martin Binks
  • ASMBS Integrated Health: Support Groups Symposium. 'Running Online Support Groups'. Annual Scientific Sessions of American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Obesity Week 2017, Washington, DC; 2017.
  • ASMBS ABLS/Fundamentals of Bariatric Surgery. 'Psych Evaluation: can we predict who will have problems?' Annual Scientific Sessions of American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Obesity Week 2017, Washington, DC; 2017.
  • TOS Symposium: To Eat or Not to Eat? Your Brain Has the Answer. 'Psychology and Neuroscience of Food Choice.' Annual Scientific Sessions of The Obesity Society at Obesity Week 2017, Washington, DC; 2017.
• Dr. Julian Spallholz
  • Antibody Engineering & Therapeutics. 'Redox Selenium ADCs Improve Cancer Cell Monoclonal Antibody Cytotoxicity.' San Diego, CA. December 13, 2017. https://goo.gl/DSjEQS

Miscellaneous Board and Other Appointments

• Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar was appointed as the Editor-In-Chief for Nutrition and Diabetes (Journal), which is indexed in PubMed and has and Impact Factor of 3.534.

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In the Media

Professors in National Media

Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar

• DailyMail.com on October 2, 2017 entitled "Is it possible to catch diabetes? It sounds absurd, but that's what a reputable new study suggests. And it may be that other 'lifestyle' diseases such as joint pain and even obesity are contagious, too". https://goo.gl/B8S5ky

Dr. Martin Binks

• Video Short: Healio Endocrinetoday on November 6, 2017 entitled 'VIDEO: Food cravings do not necessarily follow calorie restriction'. https://goo.gl/s8TBqc

GNO Events

GNO Social Event

The first GNO social event for Fall 2017 was hold on September 14, 2017. GNO members enjoyed frozen yogurt and played outdoor volleyball together!

Lubbock Heart Walk

GNO and Dr. Moustaid-Moussa's lab organized a NS team to participate in 2017 Lubbock Heart Walk. The Heart Walk is the American Heart Association's yearly fund raising event to save lives from heart disease and stroke. https://goo.gl/widpuY

Hurricane Harvey Scholarship Relief Fundraiser

GNO members participated in the Hurricane Harvey Scholarship Relief Fundraiser Event at Urbanovsky Park on November 5, 2017. The event was organized by the College of Human Sciences to support Texas Tech students impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

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Editor of Nutrition Matters at Texas Tech

• Editor - Shao-Hua Chin, B.S.
• Editorial Assistant – Wei-Lin Huang, B.S.