Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Students interested in gaining research experience have the opportunity to work with the distinguished research faculty in the Department of Nutrition. Faculty members conduct research on topics related to socioeconomic disparities, cancer, phytochemicals, gut microbiome, and even neurology. Students can join a participating faculty member’s lab and earn course credit by completing the application to enroll in Directed Studies (NUTR 485) or Research (NUTR 491).
Participating Faculty Labs
Classification: Juniors and seniors who have at least two semesters remaining will receive preference for enrollment. This gives students more time to make decisions and apply to graduate programs after the class. However, underclassmen (particularly sophomores) will also be considered.
Prerequisites: None
GPR Requirement: 2.8
Time Required: At least 2 ½ hours twice a week
Research: One of the main goals of the class is to introduce students to what they can expect if they choose to attend graduate school. We are seeking motivated students who are interested in learning about nutrition related research and exploring the possibility of graduate school to participate in NUTR 485/491. My laboratory conducts research evaluating the effect of dietary compounds on the development and progression of both breast and colon cancer. Specifically we study how things in the diet mimic the effects of naturally occurring hormones in the body. Ongoing projects are focused on estrogenic compounds in plants such as soy, while other studies are exploring the effects of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish.
Student Role: Students will be introduced to a variety of common research techniques and learn fundamental principles of cancer biology.
Additional Information: All interested students need to complete the entire application. In addition, in the space provided for comments the applicant needs to answer the following question. Why do you want to participate in this class? I anticipate taking at least two students each semester including both Fall and Spring and during the long summer session.
Classification: Juniors and seniors who have at least two semesters remaining will receive preference for enrollment. This gives students more time to make decisions and apply to graduate programs after the class. However, underclassmen (particularly sophomores) will also be considered.
Prerequisites: None
GPR Requirement: 2.8
Time Required: At least 2 ½ hours twice a week
Research: Dr. Jenna Anding currently serves as Principle Investigator for the Better Living for Texans SNAP-Ed program. Her research areas have focused on the evaluation of Extension food and nutrition education programs, including those targeted towards limited resource audiences. Currently, Dr. Anding’s Extension programming efforts have been directed towards food safety where she is developing food safety programs for consumers and food service employees. Dr. Anding received her B.S. in Agricultural Education and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Nutrition from Texas A&M. She holds a teaching certificate in both Agricultural Sciences and Biology, is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian and is a Certified Food Safety Professional.
Student Role: Students will participate in a variety of extension and outreach programs.
Additional Information: All interested students need to complete the entire application. In addition, in the space provided for comments the applicant needs to answer the following question. Why do you want to participate in this class? I anticipate taking at least two students each semester including both Fall and Spring and during the long summer session.
Classification: Any
Time Required: A minimum of 9 hours per week
Minimum GPA: 3.25
Pre-requisites: None
Research: Dr. Chapkin’s lab investigates the impact of dietary fat and fiber on the cellular “signaling cascades” in the colon. His laboratory is involved in Systems Biology, the modeling and understanding at the molecular level of the dynamic relationships among diet and biological molecules which regulate colon cancer development. He has demonstrated that omega 3 fatty acids regulate the transmission of information that alters physiological responses such as cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, DNA methylation status, membrane microdomain organization, and protein trafficking, thereby ultimately determining the risk for developing colon cancer. Findings from his studies indicate that the chemopreventive effect of fish oil is due to the direct action of omega 3 fatty acids and not to a reduction in the content of omega 6 fatty acids. He has developed noninvasive methodology for monitoring global changes in intestinal gene expression. This effort has generated a patent and an NIH initiated and sponsored clinical intervention trial.
Dr. Chapkin’s laboratory is also investigating the mechanisms by which dietary lipids and phytochemicals, e.g., docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and curcumin, modulate effector cells (T- lymphocytes) of the immune system. He is involved in studying the role of lipids as mediators of chronic inflammation. He has demonstrated that dietary DHA and curcumin alter T-lymphocyte membrane microdomain composition and suppress cytokine production. Elucidation of the mechanisms by which DHA and phytochemical feeding suppress T-lymphocyte function will lead to the establishment of dietary guidelines designed to reduce the incidence and severity of disorders that involve an inappropriately activated immune response (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis) without increasing the susceptibility to infection. This is important because epidemiological and preclinical studies indicate that dietary EPA and DHA-induced shifts in inflammatory processes, in part, account for their anti-tumorigenic properties in colon cancer.
Classification: Open to all, but approval of the instructor is required.
Time Required: At least 2 ½ hours twice a week
Minimum GPA: None
GPR Requirement: 2.8 (Preferred >3.0)
Pre-requisites: None
Research: The research in the Giles lab is primarily focused on understanding why obese increases the risk for breast cancer after, but not before, menopause. Our work focuses on understanding how the obese microenvironment, when combined with the metabolic and hormonal changes associated with menopause, promote tumor development, survival, and growth. In parallel, we are investigating the role of adipose tissue inflammation in the development of metabolic disease after menopause. Our hope is that the knowledge gained from studying the ‘normal’ adipose and breast environments during menopause will also help us understand the changes that occur to create a tumor-promoting environment in the breast of obese women during this same window of time.
We work with cell cultures, pre-clinical (rodent) models, and some human samples. We use a variety of techniques to study metabolism, inflammation, and molecular pathways and have performed intervention studies with diets, exercise, and pharmaceuticals.
Student Role: The role for each undergraduate student in the lab will vary based on their prior experience, initiative, and desire to become involved. They will be introduced to a variety of common research techniques based on the studies currently ongoing in the lab, but these may range from general molecular and cell biology techniques, cell culture, animal models of obesity and cancer, etc. They will also have the opportunity to work with other members of the lab, contribute to background research and ongoing experiments, perform general lab duties, and participate in regular lab meetings.
Additional Information: All interested students need to complete the entire application. In addition, in the space provided for comments the applicant needs to answer the following question. Why do you want to participate in this class? I anticipate taking at least two students each semester including both Fall and Spring and during the long summer session.
Prerequisites: Open to all, but approval of instructor is required.
GPR Requirement: 3.0
Time Required: At least 4 hours per week
Research: Dr. Guo lab research interests include the mechanisms of diabetes mellitus and associated cardiovascular dysfunctions, focusing on nutritional and hormonal signal transduction, insulin resistance, gene transcriptional control of nutrient homeostasis, and obesity-induced diabetes and cardiac dysfunction. Dr. Guo’s lab has been working on the gene transcriptional regulation of metabolic homeostasis by insulin receptor substrate proteins (IRS) and Forkhead-winged helix transcription factors (FoxO) with the hope of understanding how the signaling from insulin via IRS to FoxO proteins plays a key role in many fundamental cellular processes, including cellular growth and metabolism. His lab has taken a multidisciplinary approach in both cell- and animal- based experiments to investigate how different nutritional and hormonal signals regulate FoxO and how dysregulation of the FoxO pathway is involved in the development of metabolic diseases. His lab long term goals are to identify components of the IRS and FoxO regulatory network that can be targeted for nutritional and therapeutic intervention in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. For more information, please visit Guo lab departmental website: https://nutrition.tamu.edu/faculty/guo-shaodong/
Student’s Role: Student will learn techniques from cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and animal physiology. In particular, techniques including genotyping, animal handling, gene targeting and mouse genetics, DNA and RNA isolation, real-time PCR, gel electrophoresis, primary hepatocyte and myocyte isolation and cell culturing, blood chemistry, fluorescent and electron microscope, gene array and micro RNA array analysis, tissue section and immunostaining, metabolic and cardiac analysis are available at a daily-based research in the lab. The student will also be involved in Guo lab meetings with postdoctoral fellows and graduate students for discussing research papers in and lab research progress at a weekly-basis.
Classification: Juniors and seniors who have at least two semesters remaining will receive preference for enrollment. This gives students more time to make decisions and apply to graduate programs after the class. However, underclassmen (particularly sophomores) will also be considered.
Prerequisites: None
GPR Requirement: 2.8
Time Required: At least 2 ½ hours twice a week
Research: Work in the Johnston group involves the application of randomized trial, systematic review, meta-analysis and guideline recommendation methods to a wide range of areas, with particular interests dietary guideline methodology, and in teaching the principles and practice of critical appraisal and evidence-based nutrition. As the director and co-founder of NutriRECS (www.nutrirecs.com), he leads an international consortium of researchers and research trainees aiming to develop high quality, value-added nutritional guideline recommendations on major nutrition, food and dietary pattern questions.
Student Role: Students will be introduced to a variety of common research techniques and learn fundamental principles of systematic reviews.
Additional Information: All interested students need to complete the entire application. In addition, in the space provided for comments the applicant needs to answer the following question. Why do you want to participate in this class? I anticipate taking at least two students each semester including both Fall and Spring and during the long summer session.
Prerequisites: Open to all, but approval of instructor is required.
GPR Requirement: 3.0
Time Required: At least 4 hours per week
Research: Ghrelin is the only known “hunger hormone”, which stimulates appetite and promotes obesity. Dr. Sun has made seminal contributions to ghrelin field. She generated the first set of ghrelin and ghrelin receptor knockout mice, and discovered ghrelin’s novel functions in diabetes, thermogenesis and macrophage polarization. Her work suggests that ghrelin might be a promising drug target for obesity, diabetes, inflammation, and aging (For more info, please see: https://nutrition.tamu.edu/people/sun-yuxiang/).
The research interests of Dr. Sun include nutritional regulation of glucose regulation and lipid metabolism, neural and hormonal regulation of energy- and glucose- homeostasis, pathogenesis and pathophysiology of obesity, diabetes, inflammation, and aging.
Current projects in the lab are to elucidate the roles and pertinent mechanisms of ghrelin- signaling in obesity, diabetes, inflammation and aging. State-of-the-art tools are used to study the functions of ghrelin signaling in: 1) energy metabolism and energy balance; 2) inflammation and immunometabolism; 3) pancreatic hormonal secretion. Physiological and pharmacological approaches are carried out in global and tissue-specific knockout and knockin mice, as well as in primary cells and tissue culture systems.
Student’s Role: Student will learn general cell and molecular biology techniques, including DNA and RNA isolation, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and cell culture etc. Depend on student’s background and interest, advanced program is available.
Classification: Freshman through first semester of Junior year.
Prerequisites: None
GPR Requirement: 2.8
Time Required: 2 semester commitment, variable credit hours
Research Interest: My laboratory uses the mouse as an experimental genetic model to investigate factors that contribute to inter-individual differences in health and disease. A major goal of our current research investigating why individuals differ in their responses to exogenous stimuli. We are using mouse models to investigate responses to environmental factors like the enteric flora of the gastrointestinal tract and diet. The goal of these studies is to identify how individual responses to environmental factors leads to differential disease susceptibilities. Diseases we currently study are cancer and metabolic syndrome. Our studies use human relevant diets like American, Mediterranean, Japanese, and ketogenic.
Student Role: Student will work with senior lab members on research project and will learn a variety of techniques. Advanced undergrads that have worked in the lab for several semesters usually develop their own research project.
Classification: Prefer completion of NUTR 470 but not required
Prerequisites: Prefer junior but seniors may also apply
GPR Requirement: 3.0
Time Required: At least 4 hours per week
Research: The Wu Lab has expertise in nutrition, metabolism, and integrative physiology. Currently, the research in Wu Lab is focused on elucidating roles of inflammation-metabolism interactions in overnutrition-associated insulin resistance, adipose tissue inflammation, and hepatic steatosis and liver inflammatory response. The Wu Lab is also interested in exploring roles of inflammatory and signaling molecules in regulating atherosclerosis, and in studying myeloid cell functions in metabolic diseases. Both cellular and integrative approaches are employed by the Wu Lab. In particular, the ongoing projects in the Wu Lab involve a number of mouse models in which gene(s) are over-expressed or disrupted in a cell-specific manner.
Student Role: Student will conduct experiments including PCR, DNA digestion, gel electrophoresis, and cell culture.
Prerequisites: Open to all, but approval of instructor is required.
GPR Requirement: 3.0
Time Required: At least 4 hours per week
Research: Recent insights have highlighted the importance of nutrition during fetal and early life development and thus far suggest that prevention of obesity may need to begin even before pregnancy. Current recommendations are for women of childbearing age to modulate their body weight by engaging in lifestyle changes such as changing their dietary habits; however no evidence-based strategy such as the optimal duration of the intervention is currently available. Critical questions regarding the effect of maternal dietary interventions before pregnancy and offspring obesity have never been studied due to well-known limitations of human study.
Previously, we reported in a murine model that switching from a high-fat (HF) diet to a normal- fat (NF) diet 1 week before pregnancy (H1N group) and maintaining this diet until weaning, is not necessarily beneficial but actually exacerbates the offspring obesity and glucose intolerance (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26607040). We hypothesize transitions from a HF to a NF diet for different periods of time before pregnancy, differently pre-program offspring obesity and metabolic outcomes. Therefore, our recent study focus is to find out if and how different maternal diet intervention before pregnancy would prevent the downstream offspring using a mouse model.
Dr. Xie is also interested in the molecular and genetic basis of heart development and the ontology of congenital heart disease (CHD). CHD is the most common type of birth defect that affect 1% live birth and account for 1/3 of the whole birth defects. Her research has been focused on understanding how important transcription factors and signaling pathways for heart development such as Tbx5, Gata4 and Hh signaling networks in regulating the inflow and outflow tract development (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26744331, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25986147 and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22898775). She is also interested in understanding how maternal obesity or diabetes increase the risk of CHD of the baby.
Student’s Role: Student will learn general cell and molecular biology techniques, including DNA and RNA isolation, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and tissue processing for histology study, etc. Students will also learn and assist in mouse colony maintenance. Depend on student’s background and interest, advanced program is available.
Research Experiences for Undergraduates
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences also offers undergraduate research opportunities through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. The REU program is a grant-based summer program held by universities across the nation to enhance undergraduate participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research. For 10 weeks, REU students participate in real-world scientific investigations under the guidance of a faculty mentor and receive both a stipend and housing for the duration of the program.