Welcome to the ASU College of Health Solutions, Nutrition Research Project page. This website is a common resource for students and applicants to our various nutrition programs to learn more about the faculty and the various projects they are currently conducting that you could get involved in as a student at ASU. Browse through the list of faculty and then the specific projects currently underway by each faculty. If you are a current student, feel free to use the sign up page to let us know more about who you might want to work with. You can also email the faculty themselves to discuss research interests. We look forward to hearing from you.
Projects
Meg Bruening
SPARC: Social impact on Physical Activity and NutRition behaviors in College
Project Description: Life as a college freshman is a period of immense change, which has been shown to result in increased risk for excessive weight gain, declines in PA level sand worsening of overall diet quality. Identity formation and changes in interpersonal influences (making choices independent from parents and becoming more aligned with friends) cause college to be a critical time in establishing weight-related behaviors that are carried into adulthood. Yet, freshmen are an understudied population in obesity research.
This study follows ASU freshmen over 1 year to see how changes in their social and environmental contexts impact their eating, physical activity and weight. We use Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) through a smartphone app--devilSPARC--to assess participant behaviors. This is a 5-year Early Investigator Award Study funded by the Office of the Director of National Institutes of Health (1DP5OD017910-01).
Possible Tasks for Students:
Keywords: social networks, ecological momentary assessment, youth, eating behaviors, epidemiology, ecological momentary assessment
Contact info: [email protected]; Study Coordinator, Heather Fauland: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett Honor's students, Undergraduate, MS, and PhD who have an interest in the social influences on behavioral health for young people
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, qualified PhD Students may be eligible for RAship
Project Description: Life as a college freshman is a period of immense change, which has been shown to result in increased risk for excessive weight gain, declines in PA level sand worsening of overall diet quality. Identity formation and changes in interpersonal influences (making choices independent from parents and becoming more aligned with friends) cause college to be a critical time in establishing weight-related behaviors that are carried into adulthood. Yet, freshmen are an understudied population in obesity research.
This study follows ASU freshmen over 1 year to see how changes in their social and environmental contexts impact their eating, physical activity and weight. We use Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) through a smartphone app--devilSPARC--to assess participant behaviors. This is a 5-year Early Investigator Award Study funded by the Office of the Director of National Institutes of Health (1DP5OD017910-01).
Possible Tasks for Students:
- Data collection
- Literature reviews
- Survey development
- Data analysis
- Manuscript writing
Keywords: social networks, ecological momentary assessment, youth, eating behaviors, epidemiology, ecological momentary assessment
Contact info: [email protected]; Study Coordinator, Heather Fauland: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett Honor's students, Undergraduate, MS, and PhD who have an interest in the social influences on behavioral health for young people
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, qualified PhD Students may be eligible for RAship
Haiwei Gu, PhD
Metabolome responses to variations in nutrition
Project Description: Diet and metabolomics are closely related, since all metabolites in a biological system come from diet, directly or indirectly. In particular, low versus high Glycemic Load (GL) diet patterns are inversely associated with obesity and chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. These associations persist beyond the protection afforded by increased fiber alone, representing an important gap in our understanding of the metabolic effects of GL.
In this project, we will use metabolomics to interrogate metabolic differences in specific pathways as a result of high and low GL dietary patterns using a crossover study design. We will identify novel metabolites and metabolic pathways that are highly related to GL diet. In addition, we will discover molecular mechanisms linking diet/nutrition and health, which will bring new insights to drug/supplement discovery.
Possible Tasks for Students:
Keywords: metabolomics, nutrition, cancer, cell metabolism, gut microbiome
Contact info: haiweigu@asu.edu
Students being sought: Barrett Honor's students, Undergraduate, MS, and PhD
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, Research assistant, Opportunities to present your research
Project Description: Diet and metabolomics are closely related, since all metabolites in a biological system come from diet, directly or indirectly. In particular, low versus high Glycemic Load (GL) diet patterns are inversely associated with obesity and chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. These associations persist beyond the protection afforded by increased fiber alone, representing an important gap in our understanding of the metabolic effects of GL.
In this project, we will use metabolomics to interrogate metabolic differences in specific pathways as a result of high and low GL dietary patterns using a crossover study design. We will identify novel metabolites and metabolic pathways that are highly related to GL diet. In addition, we will discover molecular mechanisms linking diet/nutrition and health, which will bring new insights to drug/supplement discovery.
Possible Tasks for Students:
- Designing metabolomics experiments
- Preparing biological samples
- Operating LC/GC-MS instruments
- Data analysis
- Literature review and manuscript writing
Keywords: metabolomics, nutrition, cancer, cell metabolism, gut microbiome
Contact info: haiweigu@asu.edu
Students being sought: Barrett Honor's students, Undergraduate, MS, and PhD
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, Research assistant, Opportunities to present your research
Christy Lespron
Applied Projects in Nutrition
Project Description
I have served as Chair or Member on Applied Projects in a variety of areas within dietetics practice. Past projects include development/evaluation of nutrition education protocols in hospitals, outcomes evaluation for best practices in nutrition counseling, as well as research involving functional foods, nutrient metabolism, obesity and diabetes. I also enjoy serving on MS Thesis committees for these and other nutrition and exercise-related topics as well.
Tasks for Students
Please email for current tasks.
Keywords
Applied project, registered dietitian, nutrition education, metabolism, diabetes, obesity, weight management, functional foods
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: MS students in Human Nutrition (can serve as a committee member for Thesis students or serve as Chair for Applied Project students in the Dietetics concentration).
Incentive Opportunities: Applied Project credit
Project Description
I have served as Chair or Member on Applied Projects in a variety of areas within dietetics practice. Past projects include development/evaluation of nutrition education protocols in hospitals, outcomes evaluation for best practices in nutrition counseling, as well as research involving functional foods, nutrient metabolism, obesity and diabetes. I also enjoy serving on MS Thesis committees for these and other nutrition and exercise-related topics as well.
Tasks for Students
Please email for current tasks.
Keywords
Applied project, registered dietitian, nutrition education, metabolism, diabetes, obesity, weight management, functional foods
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: MS students in Human Nutrition (can serve as a committee member for Thesis students or serve as Chair for Applied Project students in the Dietetics concentration).
Incentive Opportunities: Applied Project credit
Sandra N. Mayol-Kreiser
Project Description
I have worked as the chair and as member of non-thesis Applied Projects committees in a variety of areas within dietetics practice. Past projects include management of chronic diseases, development of nutrition protocols in hospitals, maternal health, and obesity.
Tasks for Students
Please email for current tasks.
Keywords
Applied project, registered dietitian, preventive care, medical nutrition therapy, chronic diseases, maternal health
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: UG, MS, specifically Master of Science in Human Nutrition (Dietetics concentration) and honors thesis
Incentive Opportunities: Applied Project credit
I have worked as the chair and as member of non-thesis Applied Projects committees in a variety of areas within dietetics practice. Past projects include management of chronic diseases, development of nutrition protocols in hospitals, maternal health, and obesity.
Tasks for Students
Please email for current tasks.
Keywords
Applied project, registered dietitian, preventive care, medical nutrition therapy, chronic diseases, maternal health
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: UG, MS, specifically Master of Science in Human Nutrition (Dietetics concentration) and honors thesis
Incentive Opportunities: Applied Project credit
Maureen McCoy
Student-driven projects
Project Description:
I have worked as the chair and as member of non-thesis Applied Projects committees, member of thesis committees and served as chair of Barrett Honors thesis committees. Topics include a variety of areas within dietetics. Past projects include Energy Drink and Coffee Consumption, Student Involvement, and Sleep Among Diverse College Freshmen, increasing health literacy retention of underserved youth, cooking on a budget for college students cookbook.
Tasks for Students:
Please email for current tasks.
Keywords:
Applied project, registered dietitian, community health, food security, health communication
Contact info:
[email protected]
Students being sought:
UG, MS, specifically Master of Science in Human Nutrition (Dietetics concentration) and honors thesis
Incentive Opportunities:
Applied Project credit
Project Description:
I have worked as the chair and as member of non-thesis Applied Projects committees, member of thesis committees and served as chair of Barrett Honors thesis committees. Topics include a variety of areas within dietetics. Past projects include Energy Drink and Coffee Consumption, Student Involvement, and Sleep Among Diverse College Freshmen, increasing health literacy retention of underserved youth, cooking on a budget for college students cookbook.
Tasks for Students:
Please email for current tasks.
Keywords:
Applied project, registered dietitian, community health, food security, health communication
Contact info:
[email protected]
Students being sought:
UG, MS, specifically Master of Science in Human Nutrition (Dietetics concentration) and honors thesis
Incentive Opportunities:
Applied Project credit
Lisa M. Morse
Student-driven projects
Project Description: I have worked as the chair and as member of non-thesis Applied Projects committees, member of thesis committees and served as chair of Barrett Honors thesis committees. Topics include a variety of areas within dietetics and clinical practice. Past projects include management of chronic diseases, development of nutrition protocols in hospitals, dietetic preceptor attitudes and beliefs, obesity and nutritional deficits in celiac disease.
Tasks for Students: Please email for current tasks.
Keywords: Applied project, registered dietitian, preventive care, medical nutrition therapy, chronic diseases, clinical nutrition, nutrition support
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: UG, MS, specifically Master of Science in Human Nutrition (Dietetics concentration) and honors thesis
Incentive Opportunities: Applied Project credit
image: Flickr - echo0101
Project Description: I have worked as the chair and as member of non-thesis Applied Projects committees, member of thesis committees and served as chair of Barrett Honors thesis committees. Topics include a variety of areas within dietetics and clinical practice. Past projects include management of chronic diseases, development of nutrition protocols in hospitals, dietetic preceptor attitudes and beliefs, obesity and nutritional deficits in celiac disease.
Tasks for Students: Please email for current tasks.
Keywords: Applied project, registered dietitian, preventive care, medical nutrition therapy, chronic diseases, clinical nutrition, nutrition support
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: UG, MS, specifically Master of Science in Human Nutrition (Dietetics concentration) and honors thesis
Incentive Opportunities: Applied Project credit
image: Flickr - echo0101
Punam Ohri-Vachaspati
The New Jersey Child Health Study:
Study I: In this NIH and RWJF funded study we are examining the impact of changes in the food and physical activity environments on children’s weight status and related behaviors.
Study II: In this NIH funded study we are examining the determinants of obesity declines observed in schools in our four study cities.
Where do we need help?
- Data collection about food and physical activity environments using phone and web based protocols
- Developing and managing online surveys
- Assisting in various stages of data analysis, including data cleaning and coding
- Secondary data analysis
- Literature searches
We examine various policy and program efforts related to school food programs. One of the current projects is looking at the impact of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Programs in elementary schools in Arizona.
Where do we need help?
- Data collection in local schools
- Developing and testing surveys
- Literature searches
Where we need help?
- Data collection
- Literature searches
- Developing surveys
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett Honor's students, Undergraduate, MS, and PhD
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, hourly data collector positions, qualified MS and PhD students may be eligible for research assistant positions
Image Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons (MoBIkeFed)
Karen Sweazea
Vascular responses to nutrition from animals to humans
Project Description
My broad research interest is on understanding how increased body mass as well as dietary sugars and fats contribute to the development of insulin resistance and impaired vascular reactivity from lower vertebrates to humans. As a Comparative Physiologist, I am exploring how some animals are adapted to thrive with relatively very high blood sugar concentrations that would otherwise promote diabetes in mammals, including humans. Other research is aimed at exploring sex disparities in the vascular response to poor nutrition with aging. This includes studies designed to explore potential dietary supplements that may regulate blood pressure through decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation in humans with diabetes or insulin resistance.
Tasks for Students
Students will be able to participate in clinical studies or basic laboratory research studies to explore the effects of poor dietary habits on the vasculature in addition to how nutritional interventions may reverse complications associated with obesity or diabetes. Students may learn skills important to conducting a clinical trial including recruitment and advertising, subject visits and sample collection, clinical assays, data analyses, and presentation skills. Students conducting basic laboratory science projects will learn several key laboratory skills including western blots, immunohistochemistry, ELISAs, vascular reactivity procedures, data analyses, and presentation skills.
Keywords
nutrition, sugar, diabetes, obesity, physiology, vascular, muscle, insulin, aging, sex disparities
Contact info: Email: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, PhD, MD
Pre-requisites: BIO201/202 preferred
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, Opportunities to present your research
Former Mentored Student Projects:
Graduate
Project Description
My broad research interest is on understanding how increased body mass as well as dietary sugars and fats contribute to the development of insulin resistance and impaired vascular reactivity from lower vertebrates to humans. As a Comparative Physiologist, I am exploring how some animals are adapted to thrive with relatively very high blood sugar concentrations that would otherwise promote diabetes in mammals, including humans. Other research is aimed at exploring sex disparities in the vascular response to poor nutrition with aging. This includes studies designed to explore potential dietary supplements that may regulate blood pressure through decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation in humans with diabetes or insulin resistance.
Tasks for Students
Students will be able to participate in clinical studies or basic laboratory research studies to explore the effects of poor dietary habits on the vasculature in addition to how nutritional interventions may reverse complications associated with obesity or diabetes. Students may learn skills important to conducting a clinical trial including recruitment and advertising, subject visits and sample collection, clinical assays, data analyses, and presentation skills. Students conducting basic laboratory science projects will learn several key laboratory skills including western blots, immunohistochemistry, ELISAs, vascular reactivity procedures, data analyses, and presentation skills.
Keywords
nutrition, sugar, diabetes, obesity, physiology, vascular, muscle, insulin, aging, sex disparities
Contact info: Email: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, PhD, MD
Pre-requisites: BIO201/202 preferred
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, Opportunities to present your research
Former Mentored Student Projects:
Graduate
- Samer Alanbagy, MS student 2013-2014, "The effects of omega-3 supplementation on markers of obesity and endothelial function in healthy subjects"
- Katherine Petersen, MS student 2012-2014, "The effects of almond consumption in subjects with type 2 diabetes: Differences between men and women"
- Catherine Jarrett, MS student 2010-2012, "Avian resistance to vascular oxidative stress"
- Marc Girard, 2014 Summer Research Scholar from University of Poitiers, France: Role of dietary carotenoids in reducing tissue oxidative stress
- Anna Simperova, 2014 Barrett Honors thesis: "Genistein-enriched diet tends to increase oxidative stress in the vasculature of ob/ob mice"
- Katerine Diaz, 2013 Summer Research Scholar from Florida International University: Role of muscle in whole body glucose regulation
- Corey Frahm, Independent Study Project 2012-2013: The controversial role of leptin in birds
- Tyler Liss, 2013 Barrett Honors thesis: "Triglyceride accumulation following high fat but not high sucrose diets"
- Tiffany Juan, Independent Study Project 2011-2013: Pathophysiological consequences of naturally occurring schistosome infections
- Diana Soweiden, Independent Study Project 2011-2012: Effects of acute hyperglycemia on tissue oxidative stress
- Caroline Pusec, 2011 Summer Research volunteer from University of Arizona: Endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression in the vasculature
- Natalie Rodriguez, Independent Study Project 2009-2011: Stress-mediated alterations in glucose homeostasis
- Mateja Lekic, Independent Study Project 2009-2011: Mechanisms of high fat diet-mediated impairment of vascular reactivity
- Maggie Garvin, Independent Study Project 2009-2010: Comparison of glucose concentrations across species
- Christina Smith, 2009 Barrett Honors thesis: "The effects of advanced glycation end products and oxidative stress in the vasculature of birds"
Natasha Tasevska
Sugars
intake and formation of advanced glycation end-productSugars
intake and formation of advanced glycation end-productSugars
intake and formation of advanced glycation end-productSugars
intake and formation of advanced glycation end-productSugars intake
and formation of advanced glycation end-product
Sugars Intake and Formation of Advanced Glycation End-Products
Project Description
High sugars consumption has been linked to increased risk of diabetes type 2, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other prevalent chronic diseases. One of the potential mechanisms that may explain these associations between sugars and chronic disease risk is the endogenous formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), triggered by high sugars intake.
Once formed AGEs induce inflammation and generate oxidative stress. Given AGEs can also be derived from exogenous sources, such as heat-processed food and tobacco smoke, the relative
contribution of sugars consumption to AGEs accumulation in the body is not fully known. This project will aim to investigate the effect of sugars intake on AGEs formation.
Tasks for Students
The student will be involved in all parts of the research, including designing the study, literature searches, recruiting participants, conducting the study, sample processing and laboratory
analysis, data analysis and interpretation of findings. The student will have an opportunity to learn about study protocol development, obtain experience with all aspects of conducting intervention studies, learn to perform clinical assays, and gain key lab, data analysis and
presentation skills.
Keywords:
Diet, sugars, chronic disease risk, AGEs, dietary intervention
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, MD
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible
intake and formation of advanced glycation end-productSugars
intake and formation of advanced glycation end-productSugars
intake and formation of advanced glycation end-productSugars
intake and formation of advanced glycation end-productSugars intake
and formation of advanced glycation end-product
Sugars Intake and Formation of Advanced Glycation End-Products
Project Description
High sugars consumption has been linked to increased risk of diabetes type 2, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other prevalent chronic diseases. One of the potential mechanisms that may explain these associations between sugars and chronic disease risk is the endogenous formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), triggered by high sugars intake.
Once formed AGEs induce inflammation and generate oxidative stress. Given AGEs can also be derived from exogenous sources, such as heat-processed food and tobacco smoke, the relative
contribution of sugars consumption to AGEs accumulation in the body is not fully known. This project will aim to investigate the effect of sugars intake on AGEs formation.
Tasks for Students
The student will be involved in all parts of the research, including designing the study, literature searches, recruiting participants, conducting the study, sample processing and laboratory
analysis, data analysis and interpretation of findings. The student will have an opportunity to learn about study protocol development, obtain experience with all aspects of conducting intervention studies, learn to perform clinical assays, and gain key lab, data analysis and
presentation skills.
Keywords:
Diet, sugars, chronic disease risk, AGEs, dietary intervention
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, MD
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible
Investigating Novel Biomarkers of Dietary Intake
Project Description
Most population studies rely on self-reported measures of diet, such as food frequency questionnaires, 24-h dietary recalls and food records. These methods are associated with large measurement error that may obscure true effect of diet on disease risk, so that no appropriate dietary recommendations can be given to the public. In that respect, dietary biomarkers have
gained a lot of attention as more objective measures of intake. A dietary biomarker is any nutrient or substance measured in any biological material (e.g. urine, blood, adipose tissue, etc.) that in health gives a predictive response to a given dietary component. However, only few dietary biomarkers have been developed so far. This project will aim to investigate novel biomarkers of diet using data from a highly controlled feeding study.
Tasks for Students:
The student will be involved in generating the research question, literature searches and data analysis of already collected data from a highly controlled feeding study, including urinary
measures, dietary intake and food analysis data. The student will have an opportunity to gain insight into study design of controlled feeding study and acquire data analysis and presentation skills.
Keywords:
Diet, biomarkers of intake, feeding study, measurement error
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, MD
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, Opportunity for publications
Project Description
Most population studies rely on self-reported measures of diet, such as food frequency questionnaires, 24-h dietary recalls and food records. These methods are associated with large measurement error that may obscure true effect of diet on disease risk, so that no appropriate dietary recommendations can be given to the public. In that respect, dietary biomarkers have
gained a lot of attention as more objective measures of intake. A dietary biomarker is any nutrient or substance measured in any biological material (e.g. urine, blood, adipose tissue, etc.) that in health gives a predictive response to a given dietary component. However, only few dietary biomarkers have been developed so far. This project will aim to investigate novel biomarkers of diet using data from a highly controlled feeding study.
Tasks for Students:
The student will be involved in generating the research question, literature searches and data analysis of already collected data from a highly controlled feeding study, including urinary
measures, dietary intake and food analysis data. The student will have an opportunity to gain insight into study design of controlled feeding study and acquire data analysis and presentation skills.
Keywords:
Diet, biomarkers of intake, feeding study, measurement error
Contact info: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, MD
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, Opportunity for publications
Sonia Vega-López
Laboratory for Community Nutrition and Cardiometabolic Health
Research Description
Overall, my research is focused in understanding how lifestyle factors (i.e., diet, physical activity) contribute to cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk in minority populations, and developing culturally-acceptable interventions for chronic disease prevention among Hispanic individuals. I am currently working on the following areas:
- Healthy Families/Athletes for Life Program: This is a dietary improvement program designed for parents of elementary school-aged children. The program provides nutrition education and focuses on family-based strategies for increasing fruit and vegetable intake and reducing sugar consumption. This program is being implemented in collaboration with Dr. Noe Crespo (EXW) as part of the Athletes for Life program in South Phoenix. I am interested in evaluating dietary intake, barriers to healthy eating, and the home food environment among study participants.
- De Por Vida: This is a weight reduction and diet quality improvement program for Hispanic women with type 2 diabetes conducted in partnership with Dr. Nangel Lindberg at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, OR. I am involved in conducting diet assessments and providing nutrition expertise to the team.
- Lifestyle and chronic disease risk reduction among Hispanic men: I am interested in learning how Hispanic men perceive their risk for chronic diseases and the relationship between diet/physical activity and risk. I am interested in collecting survey and qualitative data that will be used to design future acceptable lifestyle interventions for this target population.
- Families Preparing a New Generation Plus: This research is testing whether a parenting intervention can simultaneously help parents of 7th grade students support their children in the prevention of substance use as well as in promoting healthy eating. The project will first entail conducting focus groups to gather information about how to adequately include relevant nutrition information into an existing substance use prevention parenting program. We will then conduct a large-scale randomized controlled trial in several middle schools throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area to test program efficacy.
Tasks for Students
I try to tailor activities to students' interests as much as possible. Students who have worked with me in the past have been involved in many aspects of research including logistics for study implementation, participant recruitment and screening, survey administration, data entry, diet data collection, database maintenance, literature searches, data analysis, and laboratory analyses.
Keywords
diet quality, nutrition, minority health, chronic disease prevention, lifestyle intervention, nutrition education, community-based research
Contact info: Email: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, PhD
Incentive Opportunities: Independent study, research credit, thesis-eligible, volunteer work
Research Description
Overall, my research is focused in understanding how lifestyle factors (i.e., diet, physical activity) contribute to cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk in minority populations, and developing culturally-acceptable interventions for chronic disease prevention among Hispanic individuals. I am currently working on the following areas:
- Healthy Families/Athletes for Life Program: This is a dietary improvement program designed for parents of elementary school-aged children. The program provides nutrition education and focuses on family-based strategies for increasing fruit and vegetable intake and reducing sugar consumption. This program is being implemented in collaboration with Dr. Noe Crespo (EXW) as part of the Athletes for Life program in South Phoenix. I am interested in evaluating dietary intake, barriers to healthy eating, and the home food environment among study participants.
- De Por Vida: This is a weight reduction and diet quality improvement program for Hispanic women with type 2 diabetes conducted in partnership with Dr. Nangel Lindberg at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, OR. I am involved in conducting diet assessments and providing nutrition expertise to the team.
- Lifestyle and chronic disease risk reduction among Hispanic men: I am interested in learning how Hispanic men perceive their risk for chronic diseases and the relationship between diet/physical activity and risk. I am interested in collecting survey and qualitative data that will be used to design future acceptable lifestyle interventions for this target population.
- Families Preparing a New Generation Plus: This research is testing whether a parenting intervention can simultaneously help parents of 7th grade students support their children in the prevention of substance use as well as in promoting healthy eating. The project will first entail conducting focus groups to gather information about how to adequately include relevant nutrition information into an existing substance use prevention parenting program. We will then conduct a large-scale randomized controlled trial in several middle schools throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area to test program efficacy.
Tasks for Students
I try to tailor activities to students' interests as much as possible. Students who have worked with me in the past have been involved in many aspects of research including logistics for study implementation, participant recruitment and screening, survey administration, data entry, diet data collection, database maintenance, literature searches, data analysis, and laboratory analyses.
Keywords
diet quality, nutrition, minority health, chronic disease prevention, lifestyle intervention, nutrition education, community-based research
Contact info: Email: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, PhD
Incentive Opportunities: Independent study, research credit, thesis-eligible, volunteer work
Floris Wardenaar
Athleat Field Lab
Arizona heat is sometimes described as hell on Earth. In this inferno, student-athletes train to become the best. Football players wear heavy gear and a helmet in temperatures over 100 degrees. Runners traverse pavement so hot it would cause second-degree burns on bare feet. Sun Devil athletes at Arizona State University (ASU) experience temperatures over 100°F and 20% humidity during the summer in preparation for their competitive season. This is the arena in which Dr. Floris Wardenaar performs his research. His research translates sports nutrition science for practical application by sports health professionals and athletes as it is driven by a combination of applied and fundamental questions related to nutritional factors that influence peak performance. As there is a need to understand mechanisms influencing training and performance, there is also a need to assess the dietary behavior of athletes. Although field observations are biased by factors that could be controlled in most lab experiments, field research assesses the athlete in real training and competition. Insights obtained from field studies help scientists and health professionals develop or modify strategies to optimize the athletes' health and performance.
Projects
Cool the Fork Studies: This research will focus on hydration and fluid balance in athletes under different environments (i.e. outdoor versus indoor difference in fluid needs, markers for hydration status, long term fluid balance, validation of hydration status measurements).
Sun Devil Heat Acclimation Program Study: During the summer of 2018 we will include (prospective) student athletes to undergo heat acclimation training or be part of the control group to assess the influence of this traditional training program on heat acclimation markers.
Supplement use of (student) athletes: The use of nutritional supplements among the general population has grown steadily during recent years. From the athlete's perspective, the belief that these products help to improve exercise performance is considered the main driver for their use. The objective of this study is to evaluate previous intake and current nutritional supplement use, provide insight in knowledge, behavior and attitude towards sports nutrition in general. Secondly, we aim to evaluate whether supplement use differs between groups of athletes, gender and those previously receiving dietary counseling and those not receiving dietary counseling.
The Athleat Field Lab actively recruits undergraduate, graduate and PhD students to contribute to our research. Please look into the option of following our individualized hands-on sports nutrition class at Sun Devil Athletics at Tempe (NTR 499 or NTR 494). In you are planning your MS thesis, or looking for an internship opportunity in a setting where proactive students are valued, please contact [email protected].
Tasks for Students:
Students will be able to participate in ongoing research projects, set up research pilots and new equipment testing. Students may participate as volunteer, intern or as part of their thesis and learn skills that are important to perform applied research in a high performance setting.
Keywords:
Sports nutrition, dietary supplements, sport nutrition products, dietary exposure assessment, hydration status and markers, fluid balance, acclimation, core temperature, skin temperature, interdisciplinary collaboration.
Contact Info:
Email: [email protected]
Students being sought: Undergraduate and graduate, Barrett, Master and PhD students
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, credits as part of NTR 499 or NTR 494 classes, applied assignments, thesis-eligible
Arizona heat is sometimes described as hell on Earth. In this inferno, student-athletes train to become the best. Football players wear heavy gear and a helmet in temperatures over 100 degrees. Runners traverse pavement so hot it would cause second-degree burns on bare feet. Sun Devil athletes at Arizona State University (ASU) experience temperatures over 100°F and 20% humidity during the summer in preparation for their competitive season. This is the arena in which Dr. Floris Wardenaar performs his research. His research translates sports nutrition science for practical application by sports health professionals and athletes as it is driven by a combination of applied and fundamental questions related to nutritional factors that influence peak performance. As there is a need to understand mechanisms influencing training and performance, there is also a need to assess the dietary behavior of athletes. Although field observations are biased by factors that could be controlled in most lab experiments, field research assesses the athlete in real training and competition. Insights obtained from field studies help scientists and health professionals develop or modify strategies to optimize the athletes' health and performance.
Projects
Cool the Fork Studies: This research will focus on hydration and fluid balance in athletes under different environments (i.e. outdoor versus indoor difference in fluid needs, markers for hydration status, long term fluid balance, validation of hydration status measurements).
Sun Devil Heat Acclimation Program Study: During the summer of 2018 we will include (prospective) student athletes to undergo heat acclimation training or be part of the control group to assess the influence of this traditional training program on heat acclimation markers.
Supplement use of (student) athletes: The use of nutritional supplements among the general population has grown steadily during recent years. From the athlete's perspective, the belief that these products help to improve exercise performance is considered the main driver for their use. The objective of this study is to evaluate previous intake and current nutritional supplement use, provide insight in knowledge, behavior and attitude towards sports nutrition in general. Secondly, we aim to evaluate whether supplement use differs between groups of athletes, gender and those previously receiving dietary counseling and those not receiving dietary counseling.
The Athleat Field Lab actively recruits undergraduate, graduate and PhD students to contribute to our research. Please look into the option of following our individualized hands-on sports nutrition class at Sun Devil Athletics at Tempe (NTR 499 or NTR 494). In you are planning your MS thesis, or looking for an internship opportunity in a setting where proactive students are valued, please contact [email protected].
Tasks for Students:
Students will be able to participate in ongoing research projects, set up research pilots and new equipment testing. Students may participate as volunteer, intern or as part of their thesis and learn skills that are important to perform applied research in a high performance setting.
Keywords:
Sports nutrition, dietary supplements, sport nutrition products, dietary exposure assessment, hydration status and markers, fluid balance, acclimation, core temperature, skin temperature, interdisciplinary collaboration.
Contact Info:
Email: [email protected]
Students being sought: Undergraduate and graduate, Barrett, Master and PhD students
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, credits as part of NTR 499 or NTR 494 classes, applied assignments, thesis-eligible
Corrie Whisner
Applied approaches in nutrition for the prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases
Project Description
My broad research interests encompass metabolic disturbances in nutrition-related diseases, lifestyle interventions to prevent or correct chronic disease, and the influence of both genetic and environmental factors on health outcomes. Specific topics that I am exploring include: 1) interactions between dietary intake and gut microbiome in relation to bone health and obesity outcomes in pediatric populations; 2) mineral metabolism in at-risk, pediatric populations such as infants and adolescents; and 3) effects of digital / social media intervention programs on weight gain during adolescent pregnancy.
Tasks for Students
Students will be able to participate in clinical studies to explore the effects of poor dietary habits on the risk for osteoporosis and excessive weight gain in addition to how nutritional interventions may minimize the risk of metabolic bone disease and obesity. Students may learn skills important to conducting a clinical trial including recruitment and advertising, subject visits, sample collection and processing, clinical assays, data analyses, and presentation skills.
Keywords
nutrition, fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, bone health, osteoporosis, obesity, metabolism, adolescent, pediatric
Contact info: Email: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, PhD
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, Opportunities to present your research
Project Description
My broad research interests encompass metabolic disturbances in nutrition-related diseases, lifestyle interventions to prevent or correct chronic disease, and the influence of both genetic and environmental factors on health outcomes. Specific topics that I am exploring include: 1) interactions between dietary intake and gut microbiome in relation to bone health and obesity outcomes in pediatric populations; 2) mineral metabolism in at-risk, pediatric populations such as infants and adolescents; and 3) effects of digital / social media intervention programs on weight gain during adolescent pregnancy.
Tasks for Students
Students will be able to participate in clinical studies to explore the effects of poor dietary habits on the risk for osteoporosis and excessive weight gain in addition to how nutritional interventions may minimize the risk of metabolic bone disease and obesity. Students may learn skills important to conducting a clinical trial including recruitment and advertising, subject visits, sample collection and processing, clinical assays, data analyses, and presentation skills.
Keywords
nutrition, fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, bone health, osteoporosis, obesity, metabolism, adolescent, pediatric
Contact info: Email: [email protected]
Students being sought: Barrett, UG, MS, PhD
Incentive Opportunities: Research credit, Thesis-eligible, Opportunities to present your research