USDA REEU Nutrition BEST

The Nutrition Bench-to-Community Engaged Scholars in Texas (Nutrition BEST) program will fund underrepresented students from South Plains College (SPC) and Texas Tech University (TTU) to engage in bench and/or community-based research focused on community nutrition, agriculture, health and obesity prevention, all of which are areas of high priority in rural West Texas.

Leadership for the Nutrition Best Program is comprised of faculty and staff from several entities. For a description of the leadership, view our Nutrition BEST Leadership page.

The objectives of Nutrition BEST REEU Program at TTU are to:

Increase the number of historically underrepresented students completing baccalaureate degrees in foods, nutrition and agriculture
Develop the next-generation of a highly skilled and trained diverse workforce in nutrition and agriculture with high impact practices through research, extension and experiential learning

The goal of the Nutrition BEST REEU Program is to enhance learning in overall research methods including:

Basic nutrition science
Community-based research
Literature
Imaging
Data analysis
Machine learning application

Learn more about our students.

Apply by Clicking Here!

Participants in the program receive:

A Nutrition BEST Fellowship through a federally funded training grant from the United States Department of Agriculture
Paid research and internship experiences
Preparation for graduate school and/or entry into the workforce through a hands-on experience working with academic researchers and industry professionals
Mentoring by a multidisciplinary team of experts from TTU, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, TTU Health Science Center and the University of Tennessee Extension
Involvement in supportive and educational environments for women and underrepresented minorities

To participate, students must be:

A current full-time student at either TTU or SPC
From an underrepresented group (African American, Hispanic American, Native American or Pacific Islander)
A major/minor or interest in foods, nutrition and agricultural areas
Interested in entering graduate school or the workforce in food, nutrition and/or agriculture upon graduation
Have a GPA higher than 3.0
A sophomore (SPC or TTU) or junior (at TTU) before the program begins
Committed to being actively involved in a two-year interactive program, both at SPC and/or TTU
Committed to participating in the evaluation of this project. This includes completing a series of surveys and interviews about your experiences.