91原创

For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of 91原创 faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent appointments, presentations, publications and honors in the College of Health Sciences include the following:

Awards

Adriana Verdezoto Alvarado, a graduate student in the聽Department of Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences, was awarded a scholarship from The American Society for Nutrition Foundation. The scholarship is awarded to help individuals from underrepresented groups attend their NUTRITION 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. At the conference, she presented her abstract titled 鈥淎ssociations between the Physical Home Food Environment, Diet Quality, and Weight in Children鈥� where she shared secondary findings from a project titled 鈥淐hild Diet and Health Study鈥� led by associate professor聽Shannon Robson. The research focused on the availability of different foods in the home environment for children and how it impacts overall diet and food intake. For the third part of her research, Alvarado is running interventions to help increase the availability of fruits and vegetables for children and measure its impact on their diet over a dedicated period. 鈥淎s kids, we learn our eating behaviors from exposure to food in our homes,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o reduce the risk for chronic disease, it鈥檚 important we increase the availability of foods that make up a high-quality diet for the youth within their home environments.鈥� Alvarado also recently received the WW Diversity Student Travel Award to cover most of the expenses to attend The Obesity Society Conference starting on Oct. 14.聽

Daniel White, physical therapist and associate professor in the聽Department of Physical Therapy, recently received the Excellence in Investigative Mentoring Award from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). This award spotlights a dedicated ACR member for their contributions to the rheumatology profession through continuous and impactful mentoring. White is a mentor to graduate students within the聽聽(BIOMS) program who aspire to have a career in clinical research. 鈥淲hen training future clinician-scientists, there鈥檚 no guidebook for the best practices. Given that science is predominantly built on failure, that is disproving what we think we know, it can be quite frustrating to start in this field,鈥� White said. 鈥淐reating an environment where someone can be enthusiastic, even through life lessons and obstacles, is an art best strengthened by a positive attitude and a growth mindset.鈥澛�

Presentations

Anita Dini, a graduate student in the聽Department of Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences, presented her abstract titled 鈥淟ongitudinal changes in body weight, body fat, and physical activity following a health screening among obese and non-obese male firefighters鈥� at NUTRITION 2023 hosted by the American Society of Nutrition Sciences. Working with聽Sheau Ching Chai听补苍诲听Richard Suminski, both associate professors, Dini used statistical methods to draw conclusions from 4 groups categorized by different levels of behavior changes. The team measured overall health risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as their amount of regular exercise, body fat percentage, weight, and more. Results determined that 57% of the obese and 40% of the non-obese firefighters made behavioral changes after their awareness of health risks increased. The observational study concluded that health screening and raising awareness of health risks leads to positive behavior changes.聽

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Chloe Rogers, a nutrition and dietetics major who graduated in May, and聽Carly Pacanowski, associate professor of health behavior and nutrition sciences in the College of Health Sciences, recently聽聽a scoping review, 鈥淭he Relationship Between Cannabis and Anorexia Nervosa,鈥� in the聽Journal of Eating Disorders. Their review of studies involving human participants explored the endocannabinoid system (ECS), the effects of cannabinoid treatment, and the harms of cannabis use in Anorexia Nervosa (AN). While the evidence is limited, their review found that due to abnormalities in the ECS in individuals with AN, cannabis could be a potential treatment for weight restoration and associated symptoms. Rogers and Pacanowski recommended future research examine individualized dosing approaches of cannabis in individuals with AN to maximize benefits and minimize harm.聽 聽聽

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