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From Here, It's Possible

Nutritional Sciences Has Several Nominees for the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Awards

The Department of Nutritional Sciences is proud to have several nominees for the 2020 Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics awards. These awards acknowledge, reward, and feature people who made an exceptional impact on the dietetics profession, region, and state association. Nominees include:

• Shelley Fillipp MS, RDN, LD – Texas Distinguished Dietitian
• Shannon Galyean Ph.D., RDN, LD – Texas Distinguished Scientist
• Allison Childress Ph.D., RDN, CSSD, LD – Nutrition in Media
• Marleigh Brown – Outstanding DPD Student
• Jannin Macias – Outstanding Dietetic Intern

"This year, many Texas Tech graduates or faculty have been nominated for awards at the state level for Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I feel it really speaks to the quality of faculty and graduates that either work at Texas Tech or completed their education at TTU," says Shelley Fillipp, Associate Professor of Practice and Dietetic Internship Director. She was nominated for the Texas Distinguished Dietitian Award, the top honor given to a member by the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "I feel very honored to be nominated for the Texas Distinguished Dietitian Award by my peers."

Dr. Shannon Galyean was nominated for the Texas Distinguished Scientist Award. This award identifies and honors a Texas dietitian who has made excellent and substantial contributions to dietetics, nutrition, food science, or related science research. She says she is "very honored to be nominated" and hopes to represent the department well. Dr. Galyean agrees with Professor Fillipp that "...it speaks volumes for so many of our faculty and staff to be nominated for multiple awards. We have a fantastic department, and this is evidence of that!"

The Media Award acknowledges persons hired by the media who have contributed to the field or advancement of nutrition and dietetics. This year, Assistant Professor and Director of the Online Master's Program Dr. Allison Childress was nominated for this distinguished award. Dr. Childress is frequently featured on local news and in national media as a nutrition expert.

Dietetic student Marleigh Brown and dietetic intern Jannin Macias were also nominated for awards. Marleigh was nominated for the Outstanding DPD Student Award, which recognizes the evolving leadership and accomplishments of students in an accredited dietetic program. Jannin received a nomination for the Outstanding Dietetic Intern Award for her exceptional work as a dietetic intern in Texas Tech's Dietetic Internship program.

Winners will be announced at the 2020 Texas Academy Annual Conference & Exhibition April 2-4 in Georgetown, Texas. We look forward to seeing our department well represented at this conference and wish each of the nominees the best of luck. Whatever the results, we are glad their hard work and excellence have been recognized. Way to make Tech proud!

To learn more about the Texas Tech dietetic internship, visit https://www.depts.ttu.edu/hs/intern/index.php.

Department Announcements

Welcome to Taylor Reasoner, new Coordinator of NS Undergraduate, Graduate, and Online Programs!

• Taylor Reasoner joined the NS Department this semester replacing Ashley Wenzel as Coordinator of NS Undergraduate, Graduate, and Online Programs. Taylor was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas. She graduated from Texas Tech with a Bachelor's in Finance in 2017 and a dual Master's in Personal Financial Planning and Business Administration in 2018. Taylor says, "I am excited to be working here now, and I look forward to getting to know everyone in the program." Her email is taylor.r.reasoner@ttu.edu and her telephone number is 806-834-1573. She is in room 402, HS.

Ceremony to Congratulate Fall Graduates of the Department

• The Graduation Celebration of the Nutritional Sciences Department was held December 13, 2019. It was a wonderful occasion to honor fall M.S. and Ph.D. graduates.
• Doctorate in Nutritional Sciences Recipients: Md Akheruzzaman and Fahmida Akter Rasha
• Master's in Nutrition & Dietetics Recipients: Caitlin Alcantar, Ann Alexander, Chloe Bell, Kimberly C. Brown, Britney Buentello, Kemia Carter, Jennifer Enloe, Carlie Foust, Tayler Jameson, Emily Karibian, Adrienne Keck, Jannin Macias, Kimberly Moreau, Anna Schwartz, Madison Settle, Carol Sides, Brittaney Sparks, Michael Villareal, Adrianne Wagoner, Lynne Warren, and Yanci Yeater 

ObesityWeek Conference

• The Obesity Society (TOS) 2019 conference was held in Las Vegas, Nevada November 3-7. Faculty and students from our department had oral and poster presentations and won an award. Congratulations and thanks to our students and faculty for this amazing show!

Texas Tech Dietetic Internship Class of 2019

The Texas Tech Dietetic Internship class of 2019 is wrapping up their time of supervised practice and preparing to launch their careers into the field of nutrition and dietetics. Thanks to Shelley Fillipp, Dietetic Internship Director, and Allison Kerin, Assistant Dietetic Internship Director, for the work and care that goes into setting up rotations for these graduate level interns. Our program is the second largest in the state, supporting 20 interns in 4 cities with 10 interns supported in the Lubbock area, 4 in Amarillo, 4 in Midland/Odessa, and 2 in San Angelo. Each October, every site hosts a dinner as a celebration and recognition of the intern efforts as well as an appreciation for the preceptors guiding these interns in the professional application of their field.

Dietetic interns complete over 1200 hours of supervised clinical practice at various rotation sites throughout the West Texas Area. While the primary area of emphasis is Medical Nutrition Therapy, these interns also work in community nutrition and food management. Rotation sites include local hospitals, food banks, school food systems, recovery centers, long-term care facilities, and the Texas Tech Athletics Department —just to name a few!

In December, 15 of the 20 program graduates also received their graduate degree. The next step will be to sit for the national certification exam to obtain their credentials of Registered Dietitian, and many have already been offered positions, fulfilling employment needs of the West Texas area. The program has a history of a 90% employment rate within three months of completing the internship.

Congratulations to the program graduates as well as the directors and preceptors for another successful graduating class!

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

• Jannin Macias
  
  • Degree: Master's
  • Defense Date: September 26, 2019
  • Thesis Title: Retention of Nutrition Knowledge and Changes in Fruit and Vegetable Preferences in 4th-5th Grade Students
  • Thesis Committee: Dr. Allison Childress (Committee Chair), Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron, and Dr. John Dawson
• Fahmida Akter Rasha
  
  • Degree: Ph.D.
  • Defense Date: October 11, 2019
  • Dissertation Title: Role of Adipocyte Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibition and Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Obesity and Breast Cancer Crosstalk
  • Dissertation Committee: Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa (Committee Chair), Dr. Latha Ramalingam, Dr. Lauren Gollahon, Dr. Rakhshanda Rahman, Dr. Chanaka Kahathuduwa, and Dr. Sharran Parkinson (Dean's Representative)
• Md Akheruzzaman
  
  • Degree: Ph.D.
  • Defense Date: October 16, 2019
  • Dissertation Title: E4orf1, a novel adenovirus derived protein to improve diabetes and to reduce liver fat
  • Dissertation Committee: Dr. Nik Dhurandhar (Committee Chair), Dr. Jannette Dufour, Dr. Vijay Hegde, Dr. Andrew Shin, Dr. Emily Dhurandhar, and Dr. Danny Choi (Dean's Representative)

Lab Updates

Nutrigenomics, Inflammation & Obesity Research (NIOR) Lab (Drs. Moustaid-Moussa, Ramalingam, and Koboziev)

• Shane Scoggin, Lab Manager
  
  • 2018-19 Kathryn Burleson Staff Service Award Winner
• Fahmida Rasha, PhD candidate
  
  • Presented at ObesityWeek 2019 in Las Vegas. She was one of five semi-finalists for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Challenge. Following the oral presentations, Rasha was selected as a finalist for her presentation "Association between Obesity, Breast Cancer and the Renin Angiotensin System in Breast Cancer Patients" and was awarded $5,000 sponsored by Susan G. Komen.
  • The proposal for this presentation was submitted by Dr. Latha Ramalingam (Research Assistant Professor, NS). Co-investigators include Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa (NS), Dr. Rakhshanda Rahman (TTUHSC Southwest Cancer Center), and Dr. Chanaka Kahathuduwa (TTUHSC School of Health Profession), all members of Rasha's doctoral committee.

Obesity & Metabolic Health Lab (OMHL) (Drs. Dhurandhar and Hegde)

• Dr. Shin has new students in the lab:
  
  • Monica Reyes, Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Emma Lakey, Nutrition with minors in Biology and Chemistry
  • Luis Loa Ledezma, Nutrition, McNair Scholar

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Student Achievements

• Mehrnaz Abbasi, Ph.D. candidate
  
  • Successfully passed her doctoral comprehensive exam. The TTU Graduate Council has admitted her to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Nutritional Sciences. Congratulations!

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Faculty & Staff Awards

• Dr. Oak Hee Park
  • 2018-19 COHS Faculty Award for Commitment to Outreach and Engagement Winner
• Ashley Wenzel, Previous Coordinator of NS Undergraduate, Graduate, and Online Programs
  • Chosen as a Matador Award recipient by the Distinguished Staff Award Selection Committee, the President, and the Chancellor. Ashley was honored at a luncheon on November 5, 2019 to recognize her leadership, excellence, and exemplary service to Texas Tech as NS coordinator.
• Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa
  
  • 2019-20 Barnie E. Rushing, Jr. Faculty Distinguished Research Award Nominee
  • Among faculty recognized with a Mortar Board "Apple Polishing" Award during the Mortar Board Forum Chapter Apple Polishing ceremony November 2, 2019.
    • Dr. Naima was nominated by Emily Miller, an Honors and Pi2 Research Scholar in the NIOR lab. Emily joined the lab early fall 2017 during the FYE Honors course she took with Dr. Naima.
• Dr. Nik Dhurandhar
  • Award for Faculty Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity from Texas Tech University, November 2019. 

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Patents, Publications, Invited Lectures and Boards

Student Oral Presentations

• Akheruzzaman Md, Shin AC, Hedge V, Dhurandhar NV. Reduce endogenous insulin due to improved glycemic control concomitantly impacts lipid metabolism. ObesityWeek, Las Vegas, NV, November 2019.
• Harkins C, Patkar PP, Hao Z, Berthoud HR, Shin AC. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery, but not caloric restriction, enhances reward-related genes in the ventral tegmental area in high-fat fed mice. ObesityWeek, Las Vegas, NV, November 2019.
• Rasha F, Ramalingam L, Moustaid-Moussa N, Rahman R, Kahathuduwa C. Association between Obesity, Breast Cancer and the Renin Angiotensin System in Breast Cancer Patients. ObesityWeek, Las Vegas, NV, November 2019.

Student Posters

• Afruza R, Akheruzzaman M, Dhurandhar NV, Hegde V. E4orf1 attenuates kidney fat accumulation in mice fed a high fat diet. ObesityWeek 2019; 2019 Nov; Las Vegas, NV. https://obesityweek.com/abstract/e4orf1-attenuates-kidney-fat-accumulation-in-mice-fed-a-high-fat-diet/
• Dhanasekara S, Dawson J, Childress A, Dhurandhar NV. Acute Effects of Egg and Saturated Fat-containing Breakfasts on Glycemic Control of Healthy Adults. ObesityWeek 2019; 2019 Nov; Las Vegas, NV. https://obesityweek.com/abstract/acute-effects-of-egg-and-saturated-fat-containing-breakfasts-on-glycemic-control-of-healthy-adults/
• Shah H, Dhurandhar NV, Hegde V. E4orf1 induces distal insulin signaling pathway independent of insulin. ObesityWeek 2019; 2019 Nov 5; Las Vegas, NV. https://obesityweek.com/abstract/e4orf1-induces-distal-insulin-signaling-pathway-independent-of-insulin/

Professors' Posters

• Hegde V, Akheruzzaman Md, Vijayan M, Kumar S, Dhurandhar NV, Reddy HP. Improvement in glycemic control and neuronal risk factors implicated in Alzheimer's Disease. ObesityWeek 2019; 2019 Nov; Las Vegas, NV. https://obesityweek.com/abstract/improvement-in-gycemic-control-and-neuronal-risk-factors-implicated-in-alzheimers-disease/
• Hopkins P, Hassan A, Aguilera J, Perez D, Ruiz S, Redelfs AH, Dhurandhar NV, Whigham LD. Determining the association of fruits and vegetable intake between dieters and non-dieters. ObesityWeek 2019; 2019 Nov; Las Vegas, NV. https://obesityweek.com/abstract/determining-the-association-of-fruit-and-vegetable-intake-between-dieters-and-non-dieters/
• Ruiz SL, Aguilera J, Perez DA, Redelfs AH, Dhurandhar NV, Whigham LD. Does percent body fat influence the accuracy of calorie perceptions? ObesityWeek 2019; 2019 Nov; Las Vegas, NV. https://obesityweek.com/abstract/does-percent-body-fat-influence-the-accuracy-of-calorie-perceptions/

Journal Articles

• Arwa, A. J., Rasha, F., Ramalingam, L., Alhaj, S., Moussa, H., Gollahon, L., ... & Moustaid-Moussa, N. (2019). Protective effects of eicosapentaenoic acid in adipocyte-breast cancer cell cross talk. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 108244.
• Brown AW, Altman DG, Baranowski T, Bland JM, Dawson JA, Dhurandhar NV, Dowla S, Fontaine KR, Gelman A, Heymsfield SB, Jayawardene W, Keith SW, Kyle TK, Loken E, Oakes JM, Stevens J, Thomas DM, Allison DB. Childhood obesity intervention studies: A narrative review and guide for investigators, authors, editors, reviewers, journalists, and readers to guard against exaggerated effectiveness claims. Obes Rev. 2019 Nov;20(11):1523-1541. doi: 10.1111/obr.12923. Epub 2019 Aug 19. Review.
• Dhurandhar NV, Kyle T, Stevenin B, Tomaszewski K; ACTION Steering Group. Predictors of weight loss outcomes in obesity care: results of the national ACTION study. BMC Public Health. 2019 Oct 30;19(1):1422. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7669-1.
• Hegde V, Vijayan M, Kumar S, Akheruzzaman M, Sawant N, Dhurandhar NV, Reddy PH. Adenovirus 36 improves glycemic control and markers of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2019 Nov 1;1865(11):165531. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2019.08.007. Epub 2019 Aug 6.
• Rasha, F., Ramalingam, L., Gollahon, L., Rahman, R., Rahman, S. M., Menikdiwela, K., & Moustaid-Moussa, N. (2019). Mechanisms linking the renin-angiotensin system, obesity, and breast cancer. Endocrine-related cancer, 1(aop).
• Siddik MAB, Shin AC. Recent progress on branched-chain amino acids in obesity, diabetes, and beyond. Endocrinology and Metabolism (Invited Review), 2019 Sep; 34(3): 234-246
• Theophilus, R. J., Miller, M., Oldewage-Theron, W. H., & Dawson, J. (2019). The Winning Weaning Food (WWF): The Development of a Complementary Food for Food-Insecure Infants and Young Children in Malawi. Nutrients, 11(10), 2292. 

Invited Lectures by Professors

• Dr. Nik Dhurandhar
  • ABRAN Conference on Nutrology. September 26-27, 2019. Sao Paulo, Brazil.
    • "Setting up an outpatient obesity program."
    • "Infectobesity: Obesity promoting virus to antidiabetic drug. A translational journey."
  • ObesityWeek 2019, November 1-8. Las Vegas, NV.
    • "Comparison of the Results from ACTION Studies Around the World."
• Dr. Mary Murimi
  
  • 2019 Speaker for the McNair Scholars Program at TTU in Lubbock, Texas.
  • "Narrowing the Health Disparity Gap: Addressing the Social Determinants of Health." October 17th, 2019 as part of the Integrative Medicine Mini-Series from the Office of Global Health.
• Dr. Andrew Shin
  
  • Speaker, 7th Korean Neuroendocrine Study & 3rd International Neuroendocrine Federation Symposium (INF), Incheon, South Korea. "The CNS control of BCAAs and bariatric surgery."
  • Seminar, Yonsei University, Division of Taste Sensing, Department of Dentistry, Seoul, South Korea. "The CNS control of BCAAs and bariatric surgery."
  • Seminar, Seoul National University, Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Seoul, South Korea. "Link between BCAA metabolism and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery."
  • Seminar, Asan Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. "Mouse bariatric surgery techniques."

Miscellaneous Board and Other Appointments

• Dr. Shu Wang was elected as a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA). Fellowship recognizes and awards premium professional members for excellence, innovative and sustained contributions in the areas of scholarship, practice and/or education, and volunteer service within the AHA.

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In the Media

Professors in Local Media

• Dr. Martin Binks
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on September 2, 2019 entitled "Dr. Binks explains why vacations are so important."
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on October 14, 2019 entitled, "Get motivated to lose the weight before the holidays by counting the small wins."
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on November 6, 2019 entitled, "It's Wellness Wednesday with Dr. Martin Binks."
• Dr. Allison Childress
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on September 9, 2019 entitled "Allison Childress breaks down nutrition myths." 
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on September 16, 2019 entitled "Allison Childress breaks down which keto diet you're into." 
  • Daily Toreador on October 6, 2019 entitled "Lifestyles impact emergence of food addictions; experts offer advice."
  • Daily Toreador on October 30, 2019 entitled "Experts discuss candy, alcohol consumption."
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on October 30, 2019 entitled "Should candy be the highlight of the holiday?"
  • Daily Toreador on November 5, 2019 entitled "Energy drinks pose benefits, health risks for students."
• Dr. John Dawson
  • Daily Toreador on September 12, 2019 entitled "Tech researchers aim to understand health benefits of eggs." 
  • Texas Tech Today on September 12, 2019 entitled "Nutrition Researchers: Eating Eggs Doesn't Mean Higher Saturated Fat Intake."
• Dr. Nik Dhurandhar
  • Daily Toreador on September 12, 2019 entitled "Tech researchers aim to understand health benefits of eggs."
  • Texas Tech Today on September 12, 2019 entitled "Nutrition Researchers: Eating Eggs Doesn't Mean Higher Saturated Fat Intake."
• Dr. Shannon Galyean
  • Texas Tech Today on October 16, 2019 entitled "Fall Fans Rejoice: Pumpkin Spice Has Health Benefits."
• Dr. Mary Murimi
  • Daily Toreador on October 30, 2019 entitled "Experts discuss candy, alcohol consumption."
• Dr. Shu Wang
  • Texas Tech Today on September 5, 2019 entitled "Researcher Develops Method to Prevent, Even Reverse Obesity."
  • KCBD on September 5, 2019 entitled "Texas Tech researcher develops method to prevent, even reverse obesity."

Professors in National Media

• Dr. John Dawson
  • Medical Xpress on September 13, 2019 entitled "Nutrition researchers say eating eggs doesn't mean higher saturated-fat intake."
• Dr. Nik Dhurandhar
  
  • Medical Xpress on September 13, 2019 entitled "Nutrition researchers say eating eggs doesn't mean higher saturated-fat intake."
• Dr. Shu Wang
  • The Next Web on September 6, 2019 entitled "Researchers have invented a method to prevent (or reverse) obesity."

Nutrition and Metabolic Health Initiative (NMHI)

• KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on October 23, 2019 entitled, "It's Wellness Wednesday with Texas Tech's NMHI." 
• KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock on November 18, 2019 entitled "Texas Tech's NMHI offers weight loss programs of all types."

GNO Events

South Plains Food Bank Volunteering 

On November 23, 2019, GNO members volunteered at the South Plains Food Bank to sort cans. They had a great time giving back to the community during the Thanksgiving season!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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