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Graduation!

August/September 2019

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August Graduates

Food Science:

Gvakharia Mgebrishvilli

Luo, LiQiao

Karla Solis Salazar, MS, Committee Chair: Dr. Gary Acuff, Co-Chair: Dr. Alejandro Castillo

Comparison of Different Antimicrobial Treatments in the Decontamination of Fresh Beef Head and Cheek Meat

Nooshin Moradi: PhD, Committee Chair: Dr. Gary Acuff

Factors Influencing Survival of Bacterial Groups in Low Moisture Products

Nutrition: Bauman, Meghan Anne

Benavides, Gabriela

Bliss, Logan Elise

Cantu, Taylor Kristyne

Click, Chandler Robert

Cloud, Kiersten Lindsay

Croft, Kaleb Scott

Dubravec, Cecilia Gwendolyn

Enriquez, Adilene

Espinosa, Christopher

Gonzalez, Rayen Coral

Hail, Holden Hunter

Kim, Jean Park

Lawler, Amanda Kate

Leber, Brian Patrick

Rodriquez, Benjamin

Smith, Alex John

Van Ness, Kaley Krysten

Wunnava, Nidhi

Daniel Villarreal, MS, Committee Chair: Dr. Yuxiang Sun

Pancreatic islet functions—methodological development and functional study

Chuo Fang: PhD, Committee Chair: Dr. Susanne Talcott

Role of the AMPK-C/EBPa/PPARy and AMPK-UCP1/sirt1 Axes in the Anti-obesogenic Activities of Gallotannin Derivatives from Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Hala Nawaiseh: PhD, Committee Chair: Dr. William McIntosh

An-M-Health Intervention Using Smartphone Apps to Improve Physical Activity and Monitoring Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Dr. Shaodong Guo Lab

Guo Lab Research

In the September of 2019, Dr. S Guo received NIHR01 grant as the principal investigator with 2 million dollars to

study the mechanism of insulin resistance and crosstalk to estrogen receptors in control of blood glucose and liver

metabolism. Also Dr. Guo, serves as co-Investigator, received additional two NIHR01 projects with 3 million dollars

with Dr. Sun in July of 2019 to study the mechanism of insulin resistance in connection with ghrelin receptor in con-

trol of metabolism, inflammation and ageing.

Guo lab photo from left to the right: Quan Pan, Wanbao Yang, Weiqi Ai, Shaodong Guo, Hanna Adams, Wang Liao,

Sheida Hedjaz, Xiaopeng Li, and James Zheng Shen.

Guo Lab Presentations:

Dr. Guo was invited to give a seminar with the topic “Mechanisms of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Mouse Models” for the

4th International Symposium in Animal Models, Beijing, China, May 24, 2019.

Dr. Guo served as the organizer and keynote speaker with topic “Phytochemicals and Dietary Intervention in Control of Dia-

betes, Obesity, and CVD for the 9th World Conference of Chemistry and Chemical Medicine, May 13-14, Czech Repub-

lic.

Ph.D student Quan Pan from Guo lab delivered both oral and poster presentations with topic “Hepatocytes-derived TGF-

beta1 controls glucose and energy metabolism” in the 79th Scientific Sessions of American Diabetes Association held in

San Francisco, CA, June 6-11, 2019.

Ph.D student Wanbao Yang from Guo lab delivered both oral and poster presentations with topic “p38a-MAPK mediates

glucagon-induced hepatic glucose production through phosphorylation of Foxo1 at S273” in the 79th Scientific Sessions

of American Diabetes Association held in San Francisco, CA, June 6-11, 2019. His oral presentation won the brown

medal award.

Ph.D student James Zheng Zhen from Guo lab delivered a poster presentation with topic “Autophagy supports gluconeo-

genesis through providing amino acids for synthesis of Foxo1” in the 79th Scientific Sessions of American Diabetes As-

sociation held in San Francisco, CA, June 6-11, 2019.

Guo Lab Student’s Awards:

Ph.D. student James Zheng Shen from Guo lab received outstanding graduate award in teaching from the NFSC in May 1

of 2019

Undergraduate student Camryn Johnston won an undergraduate research scholar in the Department of Nutrition and Food

Science in September of 2019.

Ph.D. students Wanbao Yan, James Zheng Shen, and Quan Pan won the travel award to attend the 79th annual conference

of the American Diabetes Association held in San Francisco, C, during June 6-11, 2019 .

Guo Lab Recruits:

Dr. Wang Liao joined in Guo lab in the February of 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow. Wang received her Ph.D. in Food Science

and Technology in the University of Alberta, Canada. She also received the Master Degree in Nutrition and Food Sci-

ence in the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2014.

Ms. Sheida Hedjazi joined in Guo lab in July 1 as a Ph.D. student in Nutrition. Sheida received her Master Degree in Food

Biotechnology at the University of Tehran in 2017.

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Guo Lab Service:

Dr. S Guo has served as the study section member for the American Diabetes Association Research Grant since 2018.

Dr. S Guo has served as the Chair of Graduate Committee for his five Ph.D. students in his research lab.

Dr. S Guo has served as member of Faculty Tenure and Promotion Committee, Faculty and Staff Awards Committee, and

Subcommittee on Graduate Awards. Scholarships, and Fellowships in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences of

TAMU.

Dr. S Guo and his lab members serve as peer reviewers for manuscripts of many journals, including Diabetes, Journal of En-

docrinology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Nature Communication, and Cell Reports.

Ms. Wen Jiang joined in Guo lab in August of 2019 as a M.S. student in Nutrition. Wen received her Bachelor Degree of Nurs-ing at Jiangsu University, China in 2018.

Recent Publications:

¨ Yan, H, Zhou, F, Yang W, Li, X, Pan, Q, Shen, Z, Han, G, Newell-Fugate, A, Wu, C, Majeti,R, Xu, Y, Tian, Y, Allred,

K, Allred, C, Sun, Y, Guo, S. Estrogen improves insulin sensitivity and suppresses gluconeogenesis via the tran-scription factor Foxo1. Diabetes 2019, 68:291-304. doi: 10.2337/db18-0638.

¨ Xu, H, Li, X, Adams, H, Kubena, K, Guo, S. Etiology of Metabolic Syndrome and Dietary Intervention. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2019, 20, 128:1-19. doi:10.3390.

¨ Li, X, Chen, Y, Shen, Z, Pan, Q, Yang, W, Yan, H, Liu, H, Ai, W, Liao, W, Guo, S. Epigallocatechin gallate inhibits hepatic glucose production in primary hepatocytes via downregulating PKA signaling pathway and transcriptional factor FoxO1 Journal of Agriculture and Food Science 2019, 67(13):3651-3661. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b00395. Epub 2019 Mar 21. PMID:30875211

¨ Zhang, K, Guo, S, Yan, H, Wu, Y, Pan, Q, Shen, Z, Li, X, Chen, Y, Li, L, Qi, Y, Xu, Z, Xie, W, Zhang, W, Threadgill D, He, L, Villarreal, D, Sun, Y, White, M, Zheng, H, Guo, S. Phosphorylation of forkhead protein FoxO1 at Ser 253 regulates glucose homeostasis in mice. Endocrinology 2019, 160 (5): 1333-1347. doi: 10.1210. PMID: 30951171

¨ Yang, W, Yan, H, Pan, Q, Shen, Z, Zhou, F, Wu, C, Sun, Y, Guo, S. Glucagon regulates hepatic mitochondrial function and biogenesis through Foxo1. Journal of Endocrinology 2019 J Endocrinol. 2019, 241: 265-278. doi: 10.1530/JOE-19-0081. PMID:31026811

¨ Zhou J, Li H, Cai Y, Ma L, Mathews D, Lu B, Zhu B, Chen Y, Qian X, Xiao X, Li Q, Guo, S, Huo Y, Zhao L, Tian Y, Li Q, Wu C. Mice lacking adenosine 2A receptor reveal increased severity of MCD-induced NASH. Journal of En-docrinology J Endocrinol. 2019 Sep 1. pii: JOE-19-0198.R1. doi: 10.1530/JOE-19-0198. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 31505462

¨ Liu H, Liu M, Jin Z, Yaqoob S, Zheng M, Cai D, Liu J, Guo, S. Ginsenoside Rg2 inhibits adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and suppresses obesity in high-fat-diet-induced obese mice through the AMPK pathway. Food Function. 2019 Jun 19;10(6):3603-3614. doi: 10.1039/c9fo00027e.PMID: 31161181

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Congratulations Dr. Chia Shan Wu! Research Assistant Professor Dr. Chia Shan (Jenny) Wu in Dr. Yuxiang Sun’s lab has re-ceived her first NIH grant, NIA R21.

NIH R21 AG061726-01A1

PI: Chia-Shan Wu

Total $ Amount: $275,000.00 (directs)

Effective and Expiration Dates: 12/01/2019 - 11/30/2021

Title of Project: Ghrelin deficiency predisposes mice to aging-associated inflammation through compromised gut function and microbiota dysbiosis. This study investigates the inter-

relationship between ghrelin deficiency, gut barrier function, microbiota dysbiosis and low-grade inflamma-tion associated with aging and colitis.

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Retirement Reception On August 30, 2019, the Department of Nutri-

tion and Food Science celebrated with Dr. Karen

Kubena her retirement from Texas A&M Univer-

sity. During her forty-one year tenure, Dr. Ku-

bena was instrumental in pioneering the under-

graduate and graduate program for dietitians

the Dietetic Internship Program along with the

Honors Program in Nutritional Science. Con-

gratulations on your retirement Dr. Kubena! It

is well deserved!

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Alumni Spotlight Carley Carpenter is an Extension Assistant with the Food and Nutrition Unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. She cur-rently serves as the coordinator of LIFE 101: Learning Information From Extension, a program launched in January 2018. LIFE 101 provides food and nutrition information to students across campus using a peer-to-peer model. Students in the Department of Nutri-tion and Food Science volunteer their time to deliver resources to students through face-to-face events, sandwich boards on main campus and west campus, flyers posted in bathrooms, and through social media. LIFE 101 is active on Instagram and Snap-chat (@LIFE101AgriLife). In the last 2 years, LIFE 101 has taught over 450 students in face-to-face events and had over 2,000 inter-actions with sandwich boards and flyers. Lastly, volunteers have provided over 300 hours of service sharing food and nutrition tips and resources from LIFE 101 to students while learning about public speaking, community nutrition, marketing, and social media.

Carley graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences

with a concentration in the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) in 2017. During her time in school, she was active in

the nutrition community participating in local and state meetings, as well as serving on the Dietetic Internship Prepa-

ration Workshop (DIPW) committee for two years, as a member and co-chair. Carley was also a student worker with

the Food and Nutrition Unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service from 2015 – 2017, in which she developed in-

fographics and videos under the guidance of several dietitians to share food and nutrition information with Texans.

After graduation, she served as a kitchen intern at Camp Ronald McDonald at Eagle Lake in California and returned

to Texas to work for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Since being back at Texas A&M campus, Carley be-

came credentialed as a Dietetic Technician, Registered (DTR) in December 2017. Currently, she is working towards

a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Health Care Administration from Texas A&M University

– Corpus Christi.

Graduate Student Spotlight

Christian Lynch is a graduate research associate in Nutrition Science at

Texas A&M University. He studies the effect of the Osr1 gene in the patho-

genesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a precursor to liver cancer. He is

interested in discovering how Osr1 may play a protective role in patients

suffering from this condition. Originally from Zapata, Tx and an avid believ-

er in nutritional intervention and exercise, he plans to return to the South

Texas border region to improve the health status of communities living

along the Texas-Mexican border.

Current Research Interests

- Pathogenesis and comorbidities of obesity.

- Gene expression in NAFLD.

- Molecular approaches to investigate metabolic disease.

Christian Lynch

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Dietetic Internship Program https://nfs.tamu.edu/academics/dietetic-internship/

Welcome to the 2019-2020 Texas A&M University Dietetic Internship Class! Dietetic Interns in this class include:

Emma Alberts, B.S. Pepperdine University

Marcus Chen, B.S. and M.S. Baylor University

Stephanie Hammons, B.S. Texas A&M University

Heather Hendron, B.S. University of California-Davis

Haley Kinder, B.S. Louisiana Tech University and M.S. Texas Woman’s University-Houston

Destiny Matthews, B.S. Purdue University and M.S. Texas A&M University

Kimberly Tuckness, B.S. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Lauren Weaver, B.S. Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University Dietetic Internship Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) and offers a variety of rotations in clinical dietetics, community nutrition and foodservice manage-ment. This program also offers additional rotations in specialty areas such as pediatrics (including neonatal intensive care unit or NICU rotations), eating disorders, policy and advocacy, long term care, and social media. Each intern is offered a ro-tation schedule that is uniquely created to prepare them for passing the exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) and prepare them for working in their chosen field of dietetics. The benchmark from ACEND for graduates of dietetic internship programs passing the RDN exam is 80%. Texas A&M Dietetic Internship Program is proud to boast a pass rate of 94%!

The interns in the 2019-2020 Class are looking forward to their journey and being part of the Texas A&M and Nutrition and Food Sci-ence family!

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Well Staffed……. The Staff Advisory Committee kicked off the new academic school year with a popcorn party for faculty, staff and students. Participants

enjoyed freshly popped popcorn with variety of toppings. Nostalgic Saturday Night Live (SNL) video clips were also displayed for further

entertainment.

Staff Spotlight Dr. Huan Huang, Ph.D. joined our department in August 2018 as the technical coordinator for the teaching labs. Initially, she reorganized our teaching lab spaces and has been a fierce advocate for updating our teaching equipment. Currently she is contributing to our lab courses Food Analysis (NFSC 314), Food Chemistry (NFSC 313), and Scientific Principles of Foods (NFSC 211). She meets with TAs to plan the labs, trouble-shoots with lab pre-runs, and post-runs to improve the lab procedures, orders the supplies and reagents, and gets everything ready for each lab (including setting up apparatus, instrument calibration and mainte-nance). Since summer 2019, she has been working within a team to design the new Food Forensics Teaching Lab. She has been working with engineers and vendors for instrumentation to nail down the specif-ic details, from space layout/design, to furniture, supplies and instru-mentations.

Dr. Huang says “I really enjoy working with the professors, instructors, TAs, and the students and am very grateful for the support I get from the department chairs, Paula, Debra, Adam and now Mitchell to name a few.” She loves her job that uses her background in chemistry, biochemistry, instru-mentation, and her love for cooking. She adds, “It is so much fun, it is very fulfilling each week to see the students learning and enjoying the labs. I look at preparing for each lab as preparing for a party. I decorate the lab benches with supplies, reagents, apparatus and equipment. Then watch the students have fun and learn. I think I must have the most fun job of the whole department.”

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(Left) Dr. Kimberly Krenek (B.S. Food Science and Technology '09 and Ph.D. Food Science and Technology '13), Principal Scientist at PepsiCo, speaks to members of the Food Science Club and Nutri-tion and Dietetics Association about career and internship oppor-tunities in PepsiCo Global Research and Development.

(Below) Carter Hayden (Food Science Club Treasurer, B.S. Food Science and Technology '20) uses his food safety knowledge and cooking skills to prepare delicious burgers for fellow Food Science students at the 1st Annual Food Science Club Tailgate prior to the TAMU vs. Lamar University football game.

(Above) Kendall Hough (left) (B.S. Food Science and Technology '20) enjoys fellowship with Audrey la Zerda (middle) (B.S. Food Science and Technology '20) at the 1st Annual Food Science Club Tail-gate prior to the TAMU vs. Lamar University football game.

Our Undergraduates! Lucas Haskins

BS Food Science – Business Minor – Class of 2021

Lucas is a Junior from Seguin, TX whose love for connecting people

through food naturally led him to pursuing a degree in Food Science.

He was inspired by his grandfather who has worked in the food

industry for more than 30 years, as well as reading about work done by

agronomists such as Norman Borlaug and Nikolai Vavilov.

Lucas has conducted undergraduate research here at Texas A&M for

Dr. Joseph Awika and Dr. Audrey Girard, where he learned about

wheat and sorghum’s functional properties and potential health

benefits. This past summer he had the opportunity to complete an

Operations internship with Ardent Mills.

He is currently serving as the President of the TAMU IFTSA chapter, where he enjoys developing his

leadership skills and supporting his fellow students. Lucas likes to relax by participating in the TAMU

Howdy Farm where he learns about sustainable agriculture and home gardening. His future plans

include achieving an MBA and working to one day create his own food company.

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Dr. Sharon M Donovan, Professor

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition

College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences

The University of Illinois at Urvana-Champaign

A primary goal of Dr. Donovan’s Hagler Fellowship is to strengthen and extend her ongoing collaborations with Drs. Chapkin (Nutrition) and Ivanov (Vet Med) and to establish new research directions with these investigators and others, in-cluding Dr. Ry Young (Biochemistry) in the Center for Phage Technology. The graduate students supported through the Hagler Fellowship will be able to con-tribute to all of these projects.

Sharon Donovan received her B.S. and Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of California, Davis. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Pediatric Endocri-nology at Stanford University School of Medicine, before accepting a faculty posi-tion at the University of Illinois, Urbana in 1991. She is currently a Professor and holds the Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair. She is actively involved in her profes-sional societies. She served as the President of the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) in 2011-2012 and is currently President of the International Society of Re-search on Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) (2018-2020).

Dr. Donovan’s laboratory conducts basic and translational research in the area of pediatric nutrition. On-going work in the lab is focusing on optimizing intestinal and cognitive development and devel-opment of the gut microbiome. She has published ~190 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and has gar-nered over $35M in research and training grant funding from NIH, USDA, private industry and foundations. She cur-rently serves on the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee and served on the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine from 2012-2018. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017.

Dr. Xiaoli Wang

Dr. Wang recently joined the Chapkin lab as a postdoctoral research associate. Dr. Wang

began her PhD studies at Clemson University in 2009. Her research focused on the single

molecule spectroscopy of conjugated polymer nanoparticles. After graduation, she joined

Dr. Sally Ward and Dr. Raimund Ober's lab at TAMU in 2016 as post-doctoral research

associate, investigating antibody trafficking in cancer cells using advanced fluorescence

microscopy. Now, as part of the Chapkin lab, her research is focusing on the study of plas-

ma membrane protein interactions (plasma membrane spatial dynamics-nanoclustering)

using complementary fluorescence microscopy techniques. By understanding the mechanism behind those biological

processes, the goal is to facilitate the development of membrane-targeted therapies.

Xiaoyue Song (Thea)

Thea recently joined the Chapkin lab to further her education as a Nutrition Ph.D. student. Ms. Song was born in China and subsequently travelled to England to pursue an undergrad-uate degree in Biochemistry at the University of Liverpool. Thea was awarded a Class I bachelor’s degree in science in 2019. Her enthusiasm for science, exploring the world and developing a career that links scientific research with daily life brought her to Dr. Chapkin’s nutrition lab. Although her doctoral research topic is still undetermined, she has an interest in exploring the mechanisms underlying the preventive or promoting effects that dietary fac-tors have on chronic diseases.

Welcome!

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Food

Science

Club

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In Defense……..

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Operation Lone Star

Operation Lone Star (OLS), an annual emergency preparedness exercise that helps South Texas communities get ready for disasters and brings free medical services to six sites in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Webb counties, oc-curred from July 21st – 26th . Texas A&M University Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) undergraduates joined with medical, nursing, pharmacy, and public health students from the Health Science Center in serving these communi-ties. Health screenings and services provided at OLS included immunizations for children, sports physicals, and dia-betic and blood pressure screenings, and dental, hearing and vision screenings. DPD students primarily distributed nutrition fliers and provided basic nutrition education to the OLS attendees under the supervision of faculty registered dietitians. OLS enabled DPD students to explore various cultures and life experiences, provided an opportunity to apply “in-class” discussions to “real-life” experiences, contributed to the community through “hands-on” experiences and allowed for the creation of interprofessional networks.

Laredo Team Nutrition