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Depression, Diabetes, and Dementia: Dr. Arubala Reddy aims to unravel the role of the “happy” molecule

Serotonin, a “happy” molecule, is a chemical that is believed to be a mood stabilizer. Dr. Arubala Reddy aims to understand the role of serotonin in 3D's, i.e., Depression, Diabetes, and Dementia. She recently received a five-year R01 grant of $2.6 million from the National Institute of Aging and became the only female scientist to receive such prestigious funding at Texas Tech University.

“Currently, we do not have a complete understanding of serotonin changes that occur in healthy brains and how these alter in Alzheimer's disease brains.” “Dementia is a complex, heterogeneous, multifactorial condition with aging as a major risk factor. The coexistence of depression and diabetes/obesity onset make dementia even more complex.” said Dr. Reddy.

Depression is associated with the loss of neurotransmitters, especially serotonin. The brain region responsible for memory, emotion, and pleasure has been shown to have abnormalities in people suffering from depression and dementia. “I have studied serotonin in the subcortical brain for the last 20 years. At the cellular and molecular level, we see changes in neuroprotection and added neural resilience. We have also reported the benefit of serotonin in nonhuman primate models, rodent models, and human clinical trials by others.” Said Dr. Reddy.

“Our objective is to establish the connection of the pivotal brain area connecting the central nervous system, brain and blood-brain barrier. This five-year funding will allow us to establish strong links in the 3Ds. This will allow more training opportunities for people interested in the research. And by the last year of the grant, we will definitely be able to find multiple avenues for new therapeutic targets and disease development.”

Dr. Reddy began her research career in neurotransmitter and mental health research in 2001 at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, where she worked on depression, obesity, and the mental health of primates. Her work taught her about the complicated relationship between depression and dementia. She became interested in serotonin biology because of her family background and her father's healthy lifestyle and discipline. She learned how exercise, singing and chanting helps relieve stress by improving the function of serotonin. 

“Scientifically, serotonin is connected to happiness. So, I started my reverse journey on how this can help with the neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. This concept evolved in 2014 when I left my permanent job in Oregon and moved to Lubbock, following my husband.” said Dr. Reddy.

Reddy remembers her struggles and failures and how her family supported and motivated her. Her husband, Dr. Hemachandra Reddy, the Vice Chair for Research in Internal Medicine at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, had provided moral support when she was unsuccessful in finding a job.

“My husband, Hemachandra, is beyond any imagination and steps in when I say, “I quit.” He will not let me and keeps reminding me of my words – that I owe my success to my parents and siblings, and I cannot disappoint them.” said Reddy. “I knew I had many skills and could help any principal investigator conduct successful research.” 

Dr. Reddy's passion and resilience eventually made her the only female scientist to receive R01 research funding at Texas Tech University in five years. “I was pleasantly surprised when I was told I had created history at Texas Tech! I laughed as I don't think it happened without my support team's assistance.” 

Drs. Vijay Hegde and Andrew Shin are the Co-Investigators and Drs. Nikhil Dhurandhar and Hemachandra Reddy are the consultants for her grant. Reddy believes that she has a strong team and research environment here at Texas Tech to carry out her research work.

Dr. Reddy advocates for women in the research field and is committed to providing her support and awareness for women in science. “I am openly biased toward girls in science and am always willing to help and make room for one any day. I don't compromise any science, but I am willing to help anyone because someone always helped me when I was learning.” she said.

Dr. Reddy is not just a researcher. She is committed to giving back to the community by raising awareness and providing education. “I am pleased with Texas Tech and want to give back by training stronger, dedicated researchers in neuroscience and nutrition. This opens new avenues to get more grants and open labs to enthusiastic young and older minds. Right now, I work with underage students at Lubbock High and summer interns from out of town to explore clinical research.” 

She is also a member of the Alzheimer's disease association advisory board. She participates in the Alzheimer's Association's Walk to End Alzheimer's. This is the world's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care, support & research. “One very emotional aspect of the walk is the Promise Garden, filled with orange, yellow, blue and purple flowers. In the Promise Garden, orange flowers represent individuals who support the vision of Alzheimer's disease research, yellow is for those who care for Alzheimer's disease patients, blue is for those living with Alzheimer's, and purple is to honor someone we lost to it. We carry one white flower and hope that, one day, someone will have a chance to plant it. The white flower of hope represents the world without Alzheimer's disease.” She said.

Dr. Arubala Reddy hopes in next 20 years, Alzheimer's disease will be cured, and she will have played a significant role in it.

Department Announcements

Class of 2022 Graduation Celebration

The Nutritional Sciences (NS) Department celebrated our Fall 2022 graduates at Texas Tech Plaza on December 16, 2022. The hybrid celebration offered virtual attendance for anyone unable to attend in person. 

• Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics

  • Alejandra Amezola-Velazquez

  • Brianne Bartels

  • Emily Barrett

  • Courtney Betsill

  • Lauren Binnig

  • Natalie Brenneman

  • Kelsi Buckley

  • Shin Shan Cho

  • Tara Cook

  • Cynthia Davis

  • Courtney Depa

  • Karina Estrada

  • Abigail Fletcher

  • Faith Henderson

  • Nichole Heppner

  • Gentry Hicks

  • Alexandria Huerta

  • Luis Ledezma Loa

  • Alexis Lopez

  • Trenidad Lopez

  • Shannon Martin

  • Ana Martinez

  • Mary McCullough

  • Alleigh Netz

  • Lizette Ortiz

  • Kamryn Phares

  • Jessie Rike

  • Savannah Rostetter

  • Cameron Schell

  • Madeline Sessions

  • Isabelle Shamblin

  • Kyler Torres

  • Rachael Veith-Rossetti

• Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences

  • Carolina Garcia

  • Tanisha Basu

• Doctorate in Nutritional Sciences

  • Mahsa Yavari

 

 

Tips for Holiday Health and Wellness

Nutritional Sciences faculty member Holli Booe shares her advice for improving nutritional health and wellness this holiday season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Px0pUZ-QBM&ab_channel=TTUCOHS

Student Spotlight

Marleigh Hefner, Ph.D. Student

Marleigh Hefner is a Ph.D. student in Nutritional Sciences under the mentorship of Dr. Vijay Hegde. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics and was awarded the Outstanding Dietetics Student Award by the Texas Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. She started graduate school in the Fall 2020 and was awarded the Distinguished Graduate Student Assistantship for her graduate studies. Since starting graduate school, Marleigh has assumed a more peer mentor role within the Obesity and Metabolic Health Lab group. She coordinates various research activities and mentors undergraduate and freshman graduate students while taking a full load of coursework. During this time, Marleigh also completed 1200 hours of supervised practice for a dietetics internship and successfully passed her RDN qualifying exams in the Summer 2021. Additionally, she is active at NMHI, attending weekly meetings, including clinical journal club presentations/critiques and clinical research-related training facilitated by NMHI principal investigators.

Marleigh has published one first-author review paper and has 4 other manuscripts under review or in preparation. Recently, Marleigh presented a poster at ObesityWeek in San Diego and was a co-author of a systematic review and meta-analysis oral presentation. She was also a co-author of an oral presentation at the International Congress on Obesity in October 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. In November 2022, Marleigh defended her PhD proposal titled, "E4orf1 as a Novel Agent for Ameliorating High-Fat Diet-Induced Hepatic Steatosis and Associated Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors", and is expected to graduate in December 2023.

Eunice Mendez, Dietetic Student

Eunice Mendez is a Senior Nutritional Sciences & Dietetics Student. She is the recipe Leader for the Wolfforth Farmer's Market Cooking Demonstrations. Eunice leads the groups of her peers to show the community how to cook infrequently used vegetables. She is partnering with Growing Together Texas to help the community gain access to SNAP benefits & resources. She is the former Hospitality Chair of the Student Dietetic Association.

Shadi Nejat, Ph.D. Candidate

Shadi Nejat is a Ph.D. candidate in Nutritional Sciences in the Nutrigenomics, Inflammation & Obesity Research (NIOR) lab, directed by Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa. 

She earned her B.S. in Biology from the University of Texas at Arlington, followed by graduate studies where she earned a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Parker University in Dallas, TX.  Shadi practised as a chiropractor for 12 years before returning to academia to pursue her research-based doctorate in nutritional sciences in 2020-2021. Shadi's project focused on dissecting the role of a heat shock protein (HSP40/DNAJB3) in obesity and diabetes. This is part of an international collaborative project, funded by Qatar National Research Funds, to determine whether inactivation of the DNAJB3 gene in mice leads to obesity and diabetes, and whether these metabolic dysfunctions are exacerbated by high-fat feeding, and if so, identify mechanisms. 

Shadi has provided valuable services to the department, especially to NS graduate students. She served as the vice president of the Graduate Nutrition Organization (GNO) for the 2021-2023 academic year and is currently serving as the president of GNO. She also co-led efforts, in collaboration with the Graduate School and the Obesity Research Institute, to co-organize poster presentations and competitions co-sponsored by ORI, GNO, the Graduate School and the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health.  She presented her work at the TU Graduate School Research Day and the ORI annual meetings. She was among the winners for two consecutive years in TTU research competitions. She also recently gave an oral presentation of her research in November 2022 at the United in Research Symposium organized by the TTU Institute for Studies in Pragmaticism. Notably, she presented her research findings at national (annual meetings of The Obesity Society and the American Society for Nutrition) and international conferences (Qatar as co-author and Czech Republic as presenter).  She was awarded a prestigious European Union travel award by Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, to present her research in the summer 2022, co-sponsored by the Institute for Studies in Pragmaticism at TTU.  

Shadi held Research Assistantships as well as Teaching Assistantships. She is very passionate about teaching and sought further training, for which she was selected as a TEACH fellow for this academic 2022-2023 year. She plans to graduate in a year and pursue a career in academia following graduation.

Nutrition & Metabolic Health Initiative (NMHI)

NMHI and Drs. Binks and Galyean have joined a study in collaboration with HCS Faculty Dr. Leslie Shen at TTU-HSC to study the Actions of dietary tocotrienols on obesity.

Obesity Research Institute (ORI)

• Seminar

  • Vivian Haley-Zitlin, Ph.D., RDN, LD, Professor in the department of food, nutrition, and Packaging Sciences at Clemson University, gave a talk on "Mango as a potential anti-diabetic agent" on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, at the Human Science building.

• ORI Fall Seminar Series – Sustainable Agriculture and Nutritional Security, at the Human Science building.

  • Catherine Simpson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sustainable/Urban Horticulture, gave a talk on “Controlled environment sustainability and horticultural research on October 7th, 2022.

  • Leslie Thompson, Ph.D., Professor, Meat Science & Muscle Biology, gave a talk on Food Science Considerations for Sustainable Ag Systems on October 7th, 2022.

  • Jannette Dufour, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, delivered a talk on "Sertoli Cell Immune Regulation and Collaborations with Bioactive Molecules" on Friday, October 28, 2022.

  • Yujiao Zu, Ph.D., Research assistant professor in the department of Nutritional Sciences, Texas Tech University, gave a talk on "Anti-inflammatory & Anti-obesity Mechanisms of Dietary Bioactive Compounds" on Friday, October 28, 2022.

  • Molly J. Forman, B.S., M.S., Regional Program leader – North Region, Family and Community Health, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension centre, gave a talk on "AgriLife extension role in the community" on Friday, November 18, 2022.

  • Mary Murimi, Ph.D., RD, Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Texas Tech University, gave a talk on "Hunger Vs Food Insecurity Vs Nutritional Insecurity" on Friday, November 18, 2022

• For more information: 
  • ORI website: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/research/obesityresearch/ 
  • ORI brochure: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/research/obesityresearch/brochure-2020.pdf
  • Facebook: www.facebook.com/obesityresearchinstitute.ttu  
  • Instagram: www.instagram.com/ori.ttu    

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

• Carolina Garcia
  

  • Degree: MS

  • Defense Date: October 21, 2022

  • Dissertation Title: Food security status, consumer food behavior, and mobility among seniors in Lubbock County during COVID-19

  • Dissertation Committee: Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron (Committee Chair), Dr. John Dawson, Dr. Allison Childress, and Dr. Oak-Hee Park

• Tanisha Basu
  

  • Degree: MS

  • Defense Date: October 28, 2022

  • Dissertation Title: Effect of novel alternate day intermittent energy restriction intervention vs. standard reduce calorie diet on body weight, body composition, and resting metabolic rate in college students with overweight/obesity

  • Dissertation Committee: Dr. Martin Binks (Committee Chair), Dr. Vijay Hegde, and Dr. Allison Childress

• Mahsa Yavari
  

  • Degree: Ph.D.

  • Defense Date: October 25, 2022

  • Thesis Title: Metabolic and Central effect on High Fat Diet and Fish oil in an Amyloidogenic mouse model of Alzheimer's Disease.

  • Thesis Committee: Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa (Committee Chair), Dr. Yujiao Zu, Dr. Nishan Kalupahana, Dr. Michael Ballou, Dr. Chanaka Kahathuduwa, Dr. Breanna Harris, and Dr. Catherine Simpson (Dean Representative)

Lab Updates

Nutrigenetics, Inflammation, and Obesity Research (NIOR) Lab (Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa)

• Mahsa Yavari successfully defended her PhD dissertation research on 10/25/2029.  Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa was the chair of her graduate committee.  Other committee members include: Dr. Yujiao Zu (NS), Nishan Kalupahana (Senior Prof., Univ. of Peradeniya, SL and Adjunct Prof., NS), Dr. Michael Ballou (Vet Sci), Dr. Chanaka Kahathuduwa (TTUHSC); and Dr. Breanna Harris (Biol. Sci); the Dean Representative was Dr. Catherine Simpson (PSS).

• Mahsa received her BS from Shahid Beheshti University Medical Sciences and her MS from Iran University Medical Sciences, both in Tehran, Iran. Before coming to the US, she also gained extensive experience as a hospital dietitian and as a nutritionist in the industry in Iran. Mahsa started her graduate studies at TTU in the fall 2018 and was first an RA and then a TA for several courses. She has been an active member Graduate Nutrition Organization (GNO) Scholarship. Mahsa mentored/co-mentored six undergraduate students during her program and conducted extensive animal interventions and phenotyping studies.  Her research focused on determining (1) the effects of high fat (HF) diet-induced obesity in an amyloidogenic Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse model; and (2) whether eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) prevented the metabolic, inflammatory/neuroinflammatory effects of obesity in these mice.  She has published several peer-reviewed papers from her research and Iran and two from her work at TTU (one published and one in revision), with two more to be submitted shortly. Her research demonstrated that compared to HF diets, EPA-enriched diets exhibited protective effects in reducing circulating amyloid Aβ, brain APP and other genes related to neuroinflammation while increasing neuroprotective pathways in AD. These promising findings merit further mechanistic studies as well as exploring potential translation into humans.

• Mahsa earned several awards for her local and national presentations:
  • National awards:
    • Winner of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition by the American Society for Nutrition (ASN)
    • Selected for the Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Abstract Recognition Award by ASN
    • Selected for the 3MT competition at ObesityWeek 2022 next week.
  • TTU awards:
    • First place in Graduate School Poster Competition
    • Obesity Research Institute 6th Annual Meeting. Second place in the 3MT competition in the graduate student category
    • Distinguished Professors Graduate Achievement Award Nominee and Finalist
    • Graduate School Research Support Award
    • Summer Dissertation Research Award
    • Helen DeVitt Graduate Fellowship
    • Margaret Chan Carter Scholarship Endowment for 2 semesters
    • Study Abroad Competitive Scholarships
• Mahsa has accepted a postdoctoral researcher position in Molecular metabolism at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA. Her training there will focus on links between lipid metabolism and cancer metastasis from lymphoma to the brain.

Community Nutrition and Health Interventions (CNHI) Lab (Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron)

Carolina Garcia successfully defended her master's thesis titled, "Food security status, consumer food behavior, and mobility among seniors in Lubbock County during COVID-19" on October 21st, 2022. After analyzing data from 238 seniors, her results pointed towards possible poverty among seniors in Lubbock County based on the majority of the participants indicating they had an income lower than the federal poverty line. This study also revealed a serious problem of food insecurity, affecting one in two seniors during COVID-19. She recommended more in-depth studies to further explore various interpersonal, intrapersonal, and environmental factors that contribute to food insecurity to plan and develop evidence-based food and nutrition strategies for the senior population, specifically for the low-income seniors in Lubbock County. Her committee members were Dr. Wilna Oldewage-Theron (Committee Chair), Dr. John A. Dawson, and Dr. Oak-Hee Park.

Carolina joined the Community Nutrition and Health Interventions (CNHI) Lab in the Spring of 2021 after she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX. During her time at TTU, she was actively involved in two nutrition education programs and served as the Outreach and Community Engagement Officer in the Graduate Nutrition Organization (GNO) during 2021-2022. She is the first in her family to be receiving her master's degree, and after graduating, she would like to combine her knowledge and experiences from both nutrition and kinesiology to continue working as a sports nutritionist.

Behavioral Medicine and Translational Research (BMTR) Laboratory (Dr. Martin Binks)

Tanisha Basu, on successfully defending her master's Thesis research on 10/28/2029.  Dr. Martin Binks was the chair of her graduate committee.  Other committee members include Dr. Allison Childress and Dr. Vijay Hegde.

Tanisha received her BS in Nutritional Sciences from Texas Tech University in May 2020. While an undergraduate, she joined the Behavioral Medicine and Translational Research (BMTR) Laboratory in the Fall 2019 where she assisted in various clinical trials. She received the College of Human Sciences Undergraduate Research Grant for the year 2019-2020 for an independent study she proposed to conduct with the data received from the cognitive battery tests obtained during the Egg study- in which she proposed to find the correlation between the Executive Function and the Working Memory of the human brain. 

Tanisha has been a student provider at the Nutrition and Metabolic Health Initiative (NMHI) where she conducted metabolic testing and assisted in various lifestyle treatment and intervention programs. She has co-created a research training program on the basics of clinical research for high school students, mentored undergraduates in the development and presentation of their research at the TTU Undergraduate Research Competition and implemented various clinical trials at NMHI. She served as the Social Services Chair/Social Media Liaison for the Graduate Nutrition Organization at TTU for the year 2021-2022.

For her master's thesis, she designed and implemented a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a novel alternate-day intermittent energy restriction diet on body weight, body composition and resting metabolic rate in college students with overweight/obesity. The findings from her pilot study shed light on the possibility of her novel intervention being able to yield improved diet compliance and fat loss in participants compared to a control diet. These findings will inform a larger pilot study. Tanisha has two publications from her work as research assistant at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and is currently working with her advisor Dr. Binks on a review paper on the dietary interventions and prostate cancer. She is originally from Kolkata, India, and has a penchant for giving back to the community and aspires to use nutritional research to help in prevention of chronic diseases. She wishes to further her education and pursue a Ph.D. in translational medicine.

Tanisha has accepted a position as a clinical research associate at the Department of Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. 

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Student Achievements

• Daniela Ramos, Undergraduate student, Obesity and Metabolic Health lab, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Vijay Hegde
  
  • Secured third place as an outstanding presenter at the Transformative Undergraduate Experiences Symposium 2022.
• Harsh Shah, Ph.D. Candidate, Neurobiology of Nutrition Lab
  
  • Awarded a graduate student research support award from The CH Foundation and the Graduate School for Fall 2022.
• Jazmin Arzate, Undergraduate student, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Allison Childress
  
  • Secured ninth place as an outstanding presenter at the Transformative Undergraduate Experiences Symposium 2022
• Jorja Washington, Undergraduate Student, Nutrigenomics, Inflammation and Obesity research lab, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Naima Moustaid-Moussa
  
  • Secured eighth place as an outstanding presenter at the Transformative Undergraduate Experiences Symposium 2022
• Ritchel Gannaban, Ph.D. Student, Neurobiology of Nutrition Lab
  • Successfully defended her doctoral thesis proposal, "The role of the autonomic nervous system in regulating branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism in the liver", and successfully completed her qualifying exam.

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Faculty Awards

Dr. Andrew Shin

• Apple Polishing Award from Mortar Board Forum Chapter – This award recognizes distinguished commitment to excellence and impact on student educational development at Texas Tech University.

Dr. Nik Dhurandhar

• The George Bray Founder's Award
  • This award recognizes significant contributions that advance the scientific or clinical basis for understanding or treating obesity and for extensive involvement with The Obesity Society, 2022. Dr. Dhurandhar accepted this award during Obesity Week Conference in November 2022.
• Deal of the year research commercialization award 2022
  • This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the commercialization for advancing the development of a drug to treat diabetes.

 

Dr. Vijay Hegde

• Apple Polishing Award from Mortar Board Forum Chapter – This award recognizes distinguished commitment to excellence and impact on student educational development at Texas Tech University.

Dr. Allison Childress, Dr. Shannon Galyean and Dr. Michelle Alcorn (Department of Hospitality and Retail Management) 

• Texas Tech University President's Innovative Start Up Award – This award recognizes startups that exemplify innovation and commercialization. Their startup, 3 CulinaryMed Docs, was awarded the top prize of $25,000.   

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 Funding

• Title: The Role of High-protein Instant Ramen Noodles in Inducing and Maintaining Satiety. 
  
  • Funding Agency: Borealis Foods
  • Total Amount: $102,406
  • Duration: 11/1/2022-10/31/2023
  • Principal Investigator: Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar
  • Co-Investigator: Dr. Kristina Petersen
• Title: Studying Therapeutic Potential of an Agent to Improve Glycemic Control and Reduce Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's Disease
  
  • Funding Agency: TTU College of Human Sciences Alzheimer's Seed grant
  • Total Amount: $20,000.
  • Duration: 11/01/22-08/31/2023
  • Principal Investigator: Dr. Vijay Hegde
  • Co-Investigator: Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar

Presentations, Publications, and Invited Lectures and Boards

Poster Presentations

• Akheruzzaman Md, Feizy Z, Siddik Md A, Hegde V, Dhurandhar NV. Interaction of Adipocytes with Anti-diabetic Medication May Play a Role in COVID-19 Severity, Obesity Week 2022, November 2022, San diego, CA

• Hefner M, Nguyen T, Dhurandhar NV, Hegde V. A mouse Model to Study Fatty Liver Disease Progression to Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Obesity Week 2022, November 2022, San diego, CA.

• Hopkins PV, Ruiz S, Lourdes Asiain M, Dhurandhar NV, Whigham LD.  Barriers and Facilitators to Adolescent Obesity Care: Practical Guidance for Providers, Obesity Week 2022, November 2022, San diego, CA

• Mullins, CA., Shah, H., Gannaban, RB., Siddik, MAB., Shin, AC., A BCAA-lowering agent BT2 alleviates Alzheimer's disease-related pathology and delays cognitive decline in 5xFAD mouse model, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Conference 2022 – Neurodegenerative Diseases: Biology & Therapeutics, December, 2022.

• Ramos, D., Hefner, M., Dhurandhar, N. V., Hegde, V. AKT-Dependent Glucose Metabolism of an Adenoviral Protein E4orf1. 1st Transformative Undergraduate Experiences Symposium (TUES) Research Conference, Texas Tech University; October, 2022.

• Turnipseed, HW, Dhurandhar NV, Nathan AN, Beltran C, Dhurandhar EJ, Dhurandhar RN, Balasubramanian BA, Messiah SE, Whigham LD.  Obesity Management Tools for Primary Care: An Implementation Evaluation, Obesity Week 2022, November 2022, San Diego, CA. 

• Whigham LD, Dhurandhar NV, Dhurandhar R, Dhurandhar EJ, Nathan AN, Turnipseed HW, Toney AM, Community-wide Clinical Obesity Management Implementation, International Congress on Obesity 2022, October 2022, Melbourne, Australia

Oral Presentations

• Akheruzzaman MD, Hefner M, Baller D, Clark S, Feizy Z, Thomas D, Dhurandhar NV,  Role of Unprocessed Red Meat in Obesity and Related Factors.  A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Obesity Week 2022, November 2022, San Diego, CA.

• Feizy Z, Siddik Md A, Hegde V, Dhurandhar NV, Potential of Insparin for effective administration in humans to improve hyperglycemia in diabesity, International Congress on Obesity 2022, October 2022, Melbourne, Australia.

• Hefner M, Khan MSH, Reddy A, Dhurandhar NV, Hegde V, E4orf1 improves peripheral and adipose tissue metabolic profile and cognition in transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's Disease, International Congress on Obesity 2022, October 2022, Melbourne, Australia.

Journal Articles

• Agarwala A.*, Petersen K.*, Jafari F., Kris-Etherton P.M., 2022, Dietary Management of Dyslipidemia and the Impact of Dietary Patterns on Lipid Disorders, Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, S0033-0620(22)00115-3.(* Authors are co-first authors. Both contributed equally to the paper.)

• Bhatti G.K., Gupta A., Pahwa P., Khullar N., Singh S., Navik U., Kumar S., Mastana S.S., Reddy A.P., Reddy P.H., Bhatti J.S. (2022). Targeting Mitochondrial bioenergetics as a promising therapeutic strategy in metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. Biomedical Journal.

• Della Guardia, L., & Shin, A. C. (2022). PM2. 5-induced adipose tissue dysfunction can trigger metabolic disturbances. Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism. 

• Dhurandhar N.V. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2022). Engaging Communities in Addressing Structural Drivers of Obesity: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief.

• George, M., Tharakan, M., Culberson, J., Reddy, A. P., & Reddy, P. H. (2022). Role of Nrf2 in aging, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Ageing Research Reviews, 101756.

• Hart T.L,, Petersen K.S., Kris-Etherton P.M. (2022). Nutrition Recommendations for A Healthy Pregnancy and Lactation in Women with Overweight/Obesity – Strategies for Weight Loss Pre- and Post-Pregnancy, Fertility and Sterility, 118(3), 434-446.

• Ibiyemi, T., Andrews, P., & Oldewage-Theron, W. (2022). Perceived stress levels and eating habits of college students at a West Texas University.

• Islam, T., Albracht-Schulte, K., Ramalingam, L., Schlabritz-Lutsevich, N., Park, O. H., Zabet-Moghaddam, M. , Kalupahana, N.S., and Moustaid-Moussa N. (2022) "Anti-inflammatory mechanisms of polyphenols in adipose tissue inflammation: Role of gut microbiota, intestinal barrier integrity and zinc homeostasis." The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 109242.

• Johnston, E. A., Roque, N. A., Cole, B. H., Flanagan, M. P., Kris-Etherton, P. M., & Petersen, K. S. (2022). A Pilot Study of the Effect of Evening Almond Butter Consumption on Overnight and Fasting Interstitial Glucose. Diabetology,3(4), 502-513.

• Khan, F., Khan, H., Khan, A., Yamasaki, M., Moustaid-Moussa, N., Al-Harrasi, A., & Rahman, S. M. (2022). Autophagy in adipogenesis: Molecular mechanisms and regulation by bioactive compounds. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 155, 113715.

• Kshirsagar, S., Alvir, R. V., Pradeepkiran, J. A., Hindle, A., Vijayan, M., Ramasubramaniam, B., Kumar S., Reddy A.P., & Reddy, P. H. (2022). A Combination Therapy of Urolithin A+ EGCG Has Stronger Protective Effects than Single Drug Urolithin A in a Humanized Amyloid Beta Knockin Mice for Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Cells, 11(17), 2660.

• Manna, P. R., Reddy, A. P., Pradeepkiran, J. A., Kshirsagar, S., & Reddy, P. H. (2023). Regulation of retinoid mediated StAR transcription and steroidogenesis in hippocampal neuronal cells: Implications for StAR in protecting Alzheimer's disease. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Molecular Basis of Disease, 1869(2), 166596. 

• Menikdiwela, K. R., Kahathuduwa, C., Bolner, M. L., Rahman, R. L., & Moustaid-Moussa, N. (2022). Association between Obesity, Race or Ethnicity, and Luminal Subtypes of Breast Cancer. Biomedicines, 10(11), 2931.

• Mishra, J., Bhatti, G. K., Sehrawat, A., Singh, C., Singh, A., Reddy, A. P., ... & Bhatti, J. S. (2022). Modulating autophagy and mitophagy as a promising therapeutic approach in neurodegenerative disorders. Life Sciences, 121153. 

• Petersen, K. S., Anderson, S., Chen See, J. R., Leister, J., Kris-Etherton, P. M., & Lamendella, R. (2022). Herbs and Spices Modulate Gut Bacterial Composition in Adults at Risk for CVD: Results of a Prespecified Exploratory Analysis from a Randomized, Crossover, Controlled-Feeding Study. The Journal of Nutrition, 152(11), 2461-2470.

• Rogers, C. J., Petersen, K.S., & Kris-Etherton, P. M. (2022). Preventive Nutrition: Heart Disease and Cancer. Medical Clinics, 106(5), 767-784. 

• Sapp, P. A., Kris-Etherton, P. M., Arnesen, E. A., See, J. R. C., Lamendella, R., & Petersen, K. S. (2022). Peanuts as a nighttime snack enrich butyrate-producing bacteria compared to an isocaloric lower-fat higher-carbohydrate snack in adults with elevated fasting glucose: A randomized crossover trial. Clinical Nutrition, 41(10), 2169-2177.

• Sehar, U., Rawat, P., Reddy, A. P., Kopel, J., & Reddy, P. H. (2022). Amyloid Beta in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(21), 12924. 

• Selman, A., Burns, S., Reddy, A. P., Culberson, J., & Reddy, P. H. (2022). The Role of Obesity and Diabetes in Dementia. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(16), 9267. 

• Siddik M.A.B., Mullins C.A., Kramer A., Shah H., Gannaban R.B., Zabet-Moghaddam M., Huebinger R.M., Hegde V.K., MohanKumar S.M.J., MohanKumar P.S., Shin A.C. Branched-chain amino acids are linked with Alzheimer's disease-related pathology and cognitive deficits. Cells, 2022 11(21), 3523.

• Whigham, L.D., Messiah S.E., Balasubramanian B.A., Dhurandhar N.V. (2022).  The Essential Role of Primary Care Providers in Obesity Management.  International Journal of Obesity (In Press). 

• Zhu, Y., Bailey, D., Childress, A., Dawson, J. A., Binks, M., & Dhurandhar, N. V. (2022). Greater protein quality of an egg breakfast may be inadequate to induce satiety during weight loss, compared with a cereal breakfast of equal protein quantity. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 73(8), 1096-1103. 

Book Chapter

• Natequi, M., Baliga, V., Hegde V. (2022) Infection and Obesity: Two sides of the same coin. Debasis Bagchi, Amitava Das, Bernard Downs (eds) Viral, Parasitic, Bacterial, and Fungal Infections (Antimicrobial, Host Defense, and Therapeutic Strategies). Ch7, 73-85, 1st Edition-September 1. Elsevier

Invited Lectures, Presentations, Workshop, and Panel member

Dr. Arubala Reddy

• Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias {AD/ADRD}, Alzheimer's Association West Texas Outreach and support group, November 2022, Amarillo, Texas

Dr. Kristina Petersen

• Translating Nutrition Science into Practice, 2022-23 GW Biomedical Cross-disciplinary Seminar Series (CDSS), School of Medicine & Health Sciences, George Washington University, October 2022, Virtual. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsChNgdoNpg&ab_channel=GWIntegrativeMedicine

Dr. Nik Dhurandhar

• Using Collective Impact Model to Address obesity on a Regional Scale, International Congress on Obesity 2022, October 2022, Melbourne, Australia.

• Managing Obesities: Do All Roads Lead to Rome?  The George Bray Founder's Award presentation, Obesity Week 2022, November 2022, San diego, CA.

• dPAD (Digital Physical Activity, and Diet) conference, UTH.  Houston, TX Sept 8-9th, 2022 (Panel Member)

Dr. Vijay Hegde

• Evaluation and Promotion: Dismantling a Fear-Based Culture of Faculty Success. New Faculty Orientation fall workshop series. TLPDC, October 6th, 2022 (Panel Member)

Dr. Wajinku N. Gichochi-Wainaina

• " Navigating different perspectives and/or building trust when working to drive internal and / external stakeholders towards a change " Forum Discussion organized by Next generation leaders organization on Thursday, September 29th, 2022.

Shadi Nejat, Ph.D. Student

• " Navigating different perspectives and/or building trust when working to drive internal and / external stakeholders towards a change " Forum Discussion organized by Next generation leaders' organization on Thursday, September 29th, 2022.

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In the Media

Professors in Local Media

• Dr. Arubala Reddy
  • Daily Dose, the official news source for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center on August 23, 2022, entitled " Reddy Family Foundation Gives to TTUHSC." https://dailydose.ttuhsc.edu/2022/august/reddy-family-foundation-gift.aspx
  • Texas Tech Today News on November 3, 2022, entitled " Q&A: One white flower". Dr. Reddy explains her newest research and her hope for a world without Alzheimer's disease, https://today.ttu.edu/posts/2022/11/Stories/One-White-Flower
• Dr. Martin Binks
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock, November 30, 2022, Trends and Friends: Dr. Binks shares thoughts on holiday hustle and bustle, https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/trends-and-friends/dr-binks-shares-thoughts-on-holiday-hustle-and-bustle/
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock, November 2, 2022, Trends and Friends: Dr. Binks talks overcoming fears, https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/trends-and-friends/dr-binks-talks-overcoming-fears/
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock, October 10, 2022, Motivational Monday: Dr. Binks asks, who are you a role model for?, https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/trends-and-friends/dr-binks-asks-who-are-you-a-role-model-for/
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock, October 4, 2022, Motivational Monday: Motivational Monday: Dr. Binks talks about keeping your team motivated, https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/trends-and-friends/motivational-monday-dr-binks-talks-about-keeping-your-team-motivated/
  • September 19, 2022 KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock, Motivational Monday: It's Motivational Monday with Dr. Binks, https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/trends-and-friends/its-motivational-monday-with-dr-binks-4/
  • KAMC/KLBK TV Lubbock, September 12, 2022, Motivational Monday: It's Motivational Monday with Dr. Binks https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/trends-and-friends/its-motivational-monday-with-dr-binks-3/
• Dr. Vijay Hegde
  • Fearless Podcast of Texas Tech Production, Season 2, Episode 6, on September 28, 2022, entitled, "Sticky Sweets and Sweet Reds" https://open.spotify.com/episode/1hZ0bKx9dhiGqXznshqBd9

Professors in National Media

• Dr. Kristina Petersen
  • Diabetes Self-Management News on September 9, 2022, entitled "Eating Peanuts May Help With Weight Loss, Blood Pressure, and Glucose." https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/news-research/2022/09/09/eating-peanuts-may-help-with-weight-loss-blood-pressure-and-glucose
  • American Heart association news on November 17, 2022, entitled "Some reduced-carb diets may decrease diabetes risk, but others may raise it." https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/11/17/some-reduced-carb-diets-may-decrease-diabetes-risk-but-others-may-raise-it 

Professors in National Media

• Dr. Kristina Petersen
  • Podcast by me&my wellness, Season 1, Episode 128 on November 8, 2022, entitled "Dietary Strategies to Prevent and Manage Cardiometabolic Disease", https://meandmyhealthup.buzzsprout.com/1139471/11327413-dietary-strategies-to-prevent-and-manage-cardiometabolic-disease 

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 Graduate Nutrition Organization (GNO)

• GNO organized the Fundraising event for Fall 2022 on September 28, 2022, at One guy pizza from Italy, University Ave, Lubbock
• GNO volunteered for one day STEM conference for middle school girls on October 1, 2022.

• GNO organized a round table discussion on October 7, 2022, and invited Dr. Vijay Hegde, Dr. Oak-Hee Park, and Dr. Allison Childress to share their thoughts on Critical challenges in the nutrition field, what employers are looking for, and Productivity tips.

• GNO organized a professional development session and invited Dr. Mike Lemon, Instructional Developmental Coordinator at the graduate school, on November 11, 2022. The title of the workshop was "Achieving Graduate Success".

• GNO organized Friendsgiving on November 18, 2022. Students and Faculty brought their favorite dishes to share with everyone.

 

 

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