Students

NHS students are doing amazing things! There is too much to list everything here, but here is a snapshot of some of their work.

 

Yara S. Beyh 

Year of entry: 2019 

Previous education: American University of Beirut (BSc, Nutrition and Dietetics), American University of Beirut (MSc, Nutrition), Licensed Dietician 

Mentor: Dr. K. M. Venkat Narayan 

Research interests: Non-communicable diseases (T2DM); obesity and inflammation; maternal-child health outcomes; environmental exposures; and transcriptomics.

Recent Work:  https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1saUf3YAAAAJ&hl=en

 

Melissa Chapnick

Year of Entry: 2020

Previous Education: Saint Louis University (BS, Nutrition & Dietetics, RD, MS Nutrition & Dietetics, MPH)

Faculty Mentor: Aryeh Stein 

Research Interests: life course epidemiology, early life nutrition impacts on child growth and development, food security, food systems, nutrition sensitive interventions, implementation science, policy & program evaluation

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FSgKw1MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

 

Katelyn Chiang        

Year of Entry: 2021

Previous Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA, Anthropology); Emory University (MPH, Epidemiology)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Nutritional epidemiology, maternal and child nutrition, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, surveillance, health disparities

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=BOYnnJoAAAAJ

 

Ben Cousineau

Year of Entry: 2019

Previous Education: Northern Michigan University (BS, Sports Science), University of Wyoming (MS, Kinesiology and Health)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Plant-based nutrition, food sustainability, treatment and prevention of cardiometabolic diseases, and cystic fibrosis

 

Moses Ekwueme

Year of Entry: 2021

Previous Education: Imo State University (BS Nutrition and Dietetics); London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine MS Nutrition for Global Health

Faculty Mentor:

Research Interests: Design, implementation, and evaluation of community-based interventions aimed at improving micronutrient status of women and children

 

Jenna Feeley

Year of entry: 2023 

Previous education: University of Maryland (B.S., Nutrition and Food Science)

Mentor: TBD 

Research interests: The intersection between nutrition and chronic health conditions, the gut-brain axis, the microbiome, metabolomics, and maternal and child nutrition  

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=BDz1Ho8AAAAJ

 

Lucia Gonzalez Ramirez

Year of Entry: 2021

Previous Education: Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (BS, Nutrition), Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (MS, Clinical Nutrition), Instituto de Estudios Universitarios (MS, Health Institutions Management).

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Translational nutrition, immunometabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, omics sciences

Recent Work: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/lucia%20a.gonzalez%20ramirez.1/bibliography/public/

 

Aishat Gambari

Year of Entry: 2022

Previous Education: Washington University in St. Louis (MPH, Global Health) & Fisk University (BA, Biology)

Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Early child nutrition, especially human milk feeding and its impact on individual, family, and population health across the life course; global maternal-child health; implementation science; Sub-Saharan Africa and the Black diaspora

Recent work: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2018&q=Aishat+Gambari&hl=en&as_sdt=0,11  

 

Priya M. Gupta

Year of entry: 2018

Previous Education: Bryn Mawr College (BA, Anthropology and Public Health) Emory University (MPH, Global Epidemiology)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Maternal and Child Nutrition, Micronutrient Deficiencies, Complementary Feeding and Child Growth, Maternal Nutrition and Birth Outcomes, Micronutrient Supplementation and Fortification, Life-course Epidemiology, Surveillance

Recent Work: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29070559 , https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29596306

 

Helaina Huneault

Year of Entry: 2020

Previous Education: University of Windsor (BHK, Kinesiology), Wayne State University (RDN, Nutrition and Dietetics)

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Miriam Vos

Research Interests: Nutritional metabolomics & lipidomics, precision nutrition, cardiometabolic health, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, gut microbiome, epigenetics

 

Mica Jenkins

Year of Entry: 2019

Previous Education: University of South Carolina (BA/BS, Anthropology), Montana State (MS, Sustainable Food Systems)

Faculty Mentor: Yaw Addo

Research Interests: Micronutrient malnutrition, dietary diversity, food-based approaches, anemia treatment and prevention

Recent work: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5694-9608 

 

Mansura Khanam

Year of entry: 2023 

Previous education: University of Dhaka, Bangladesh (BSc & MSc, Food and Nutrition), Wageningen University, The Netherlands (MSc, Nutrition and Health)

Mentor: TBD 

Research Interests: Maternal and child nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, child growth and development, non-communicable diseases (heart disease, cancer, disease, and diabetes).

Recent Work: ‪https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=5nJlzmkAAAAJ

 

Erica Kocher

Year of Entry: 2022

Previous Education: Yale University (BA, Sociology), Yale School of Public Health (MPH, Chronic Disease Epidemiology)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: cardiometabolic diseases, obesity, global health, implementation science, health system strengthening

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=F8CtjroAAAAJ

 

Leandra Lacayo

Year of Entry: 2023

Previous Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BSc, Psychology), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MPH, Nutrition),

Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Chronic disease prevention, food insecurity, implementation science, health disparities, food equity, global health

 

Zhongyu Li

Year of Entry: 2023

Previous education: University of Washington (BS, Biology), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (MSPH, Human Nutrition)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: chronic disease (cancer, diabetes, and obesity) prevention, Food is Medicine, implementation science, cost effectiveness, nutritional epidemiology, nutrigenetics, precision nutrition.

Recent work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=dbIKtu4AAAAJ&hl=en

 

Gahyun Lim 

Year of Entry: 2023 

Previous Education: Kyung Hee University (BS Food and Nutrition, MS Food and Nutrition) 

Faculty Mentor: TBD 

Research Interests: OMICs technologies, Nutritional Epidemiology, Organ Crosstalk, Pathophysiology, Metabolic Diseases, Meta-Analysis 

Recent Work:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9345-2767 

 

Paula-Dene Nesbeth

Year of Entry: 2018

Previous Education: Grinnell College (BA, Biological Chemistry), Tufts University (MS, Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition)

Faculty Mentor: Thomas Ziegler and Jessica Alvarez

Research Interests: obesity, chronic inflammation, gut microbiome, precision nutrition

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=WOA2A0gAAAAJ

 

Jane Obi

Year of Entry: 2019

Previous Education: Georgia State University (BS, Nutrition); Baylor (BS); Georgia Southern (MPH, Epidemiology)

Faculty Mentor: Mary Beth Weber

Research Interests: Contextual factors surrounding obesity prevalence & prevention; health disparities; retail food environments; systems science; chronic disease prevention

 

Su Yeon Oh

Year of Entry: 2022

Previous Education: Hallym University (BS, Food Science and Nutrition; MS, Food Science and Nutrition)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Molecular Nutrition, Cell Biology,  Prevention of Chronic Diseases, Pathophysiology, Chronic Inflammation

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hVIUiEEAAAAJ&hl=en

 

Brigitte Pfluger

Year of Entry: 2019

Previous Education: East Carolina University (BA, International Studies; BA, Hispanic Studies), University of Florida (MA, Latin American Studies)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests micronutrient deficiencies, cognition, child and global nutrition, One Health, infectious and zoonotic diseases, agriculture and food systems

 

Josh Preston

Year of Entry: 2023

Previous Education: University of Kentucky (BSc, Biology), Emory University School of Medicine (MD, in progress)

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dean Jones

Research Interests Aging, metabolism, biomarker discovery, endocrinology, nutritional interventions, critical care nutrition, women's health and menopause, biology of sex differences, cardiometabolic disease, type II diabetes, exposomics, maternal and child health, toxicology

Recent Work:   https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_ZUkfa4AAAAJ&hl=en

 

Euisun (Irene) Pyo

Year of Entry: 2019

Previous Education: Georgia Institute of Technology (BS, Biochemistry), Seoul National University (MS, Pharmacognosy and Natural Products Science), Emory University (MPH, Global Epidemiology)

Faculty Mentor: Jean Welsh

Research Interests: food environments and nutrition policy, chronic disease prevention and behavior change interventions, child/adolescent nutrition, implementation sciences, nutritional epidemiology.

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=ck7tyWwAAAAJ

 

Sarah J. Qabazard

Year of Entry: 2022

Previous Education: University of Hertfordshire, UK (BSc, Nutrition), University College London, UK (MSc, Clinical and Public Health Nutrition)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Diabetes, maternal and child health, nutritional epidemiology, population health survey, food and nutrition policy, and obesity and obesity-related chronic conditions and diseases.

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=QeD94y8AAAAJ

 

Wilhemina Quarpong 

Year of Entry: 2020 

Previous Education: University of Ghana (BSc, Nutrition and Food Science), University of Nottingham (MPH, International Public Health)  

Faculty Mentor: Shivani A. Patel

Research Interests: Maternal and child health, nutritional epidemiology, cardiometabolic health, food systems, and nutrition policies

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&authuser=3&user=eD2RG5QAAAAJ 

 

Selin Sergin

Year of Entry: 2023

Previous Education: Michigan State University (BS, Nutritional Sciences)

Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Global health nutrition, nutrition policies and programs, micronutrient nutrition, nutritional biomarkers, and health inequities

 

Kasthuri Sivalogan

Year of Entry: 2020

Previous Education: Boston University (BS, Human Physiology and MPH, Global Health) 

Faculty Mentor: Sheela Sinharoy and Thomas Clasen

Research Interests: Maternal and child nutrition, birth outcomes, child growth and development, global health, surveillance, implementation science

Recent Work:  https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LIx5yosAAAAJ&hl=en&inst=15365353816232672843&oi=ao

 

Lan Tran

Year of Entry: 2021

Education:  Hanoi School of Public Health (Bachelor in Public Health); Hanoi Medical University (MPH Public Health)

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Usha Ramakrishnan

Research Interests: Maternal and child health and nutrition, nutritional assessment, child development

Recent Work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=m_xlqCUAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

 

Chin-An “Simon” Yang

Year of Entry: 2021

Previous Education: National Taiwan University (BS Biochemical Science and MS Biochemical Science and Technology)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: Non-communicable diseases, nutritional -omics, gut microbiome, precision nutrition, nutritional biomarkers

 

Jiada “James” Zhan

Year of Entry: 2021

Previous Education: Purdue University (BS, Nutrition & Dietetics), Case Western Reserve University (MS & Dietetic Internship, Public Health Nutrition)

Faculty Mentor: Dean Jones and Young-Mi Go

Research interests: Alzheimer's disease, metabolomics, nutritional biomarkers, gut microbiome, nutritional epidemiology, chronic diseases, precision nutrition

Recent work: 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lB_9Yx4AAAAJ&hl=en&inst=15365353816232672843&oi=ao

 

Xinyu “Jocelyn” Zhu

Year of Entry: 2021

Previous Education: McGill University (BSc. Nutrition); The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MPH, Nutrition)

Faculty Mentor: TBD

Research Interests: nutrition policy (SSB tax, restaurant menu labeling, nutrition education, etc.), public health nutrition interventions aiming to address food insecurity among underserved population.