Author Archives: mzn69

This year, we have two undergraduate researchers in our lab receiving the CHHD Undergraduate Research Award. Sara will lead a manuscript writing in the coming summer and her project is to look at the dynamic relationships between food insecurity and diet change in two seasons. Kiara will prepare her honor’s/ IUG master’s thesis project in the summer and get ready to kick off data collection in fall 2021. Kiara will be conducting a longitudinal study in college students, tracking their food insecurity status, diet, stress, sleep behaviors and academic performances three times in the fall semester.

Both Sara and Kiara will receive a $3,000 support from the college in the summer to support their research efforts. They will be interviewed by CHHD Office of Communications upon finishing up their summer project and they will be presenting their research at the Undergraduate Research Exhibition in spring 2022. Congratulations again to Sara and Kiara!

Nan’s abstract, entitled “Daily Food Insecurity and Heart Rate Variability Among Healthy Low-Income Adults: A Longitudinal Pilot Study Over Two Seasonal Months” has been selected by the American Society for Nutrition to compete at the Graduate Student Research Award Competition. The competition will be held on June 2, 2021. We know Nan is among the 9 finalists and we are very proud of her!

Nan is also selected as a finalist for the Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Abstract Recognition Award Program. This is Nan’s second time being recognized in this award category. Congratulations!

Nan is awarded $3,500 from the Ruth L. Pike Nutritional Sciences Graduate Fellowship during the 2021-2022 academic year. She was chosen for this award based on her academic excellence.

Dr. Pike was a Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State and her book, “Nutrition: An Integrated Approach,” co-authored with Dr. Myrtle L. Brown, was widely used in the United States and Canada. She was an accomplished scientist, recognized for her work on protein and vitamin metabolism in pregnancy and the deleterious effects of sodium restriction during pregnancy. She was a mentor to many students who pursued careers in nutrition sciences in both the United States and Canada.

Sara’s debut at Nutrition 2021, American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting, will be an oral presentation at the Nutrition Concerns in Vulnerable Populations Session. Her abstract tile is: Daily Food Insecurity and Its Impact on Diet Quality in Low-Income Adults in Two Seasons: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

Nan’s abstract is also selected as an oral presentation at the same session. Her abstract title is: Daily Food Insecurity and Heart Rate Variability Among Healthy Low-Income Adults: A Longitudinal Pilot Study Over Two Seasonal Months. This will be Nan’s second oral presentation at ASN annual meeting.

Both of Sara’s and Nan’s project are part of the Food and Mood study, that is funded by National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant UL1TR002014.

Congratulations to Sara and Nan!

Evaniya Shakya has been awarded the Distinguished Graduate Fellowship 2021-2022. The Distinguished University Graduate Fellowship is the most prestigious graduate award given at Penn State to support tuition and stipend among the elite group of students at Penn State. Big congratulations, Evaniya!

The College of Health and Human Development Alumni Society has selected Kiara Smith as the recipient of the 2021 Got Grit Award. This award recognizes outstanding achievement by an undergraduate student who has demonstrated progressive and positive growth in their performance and who has exhibited perseverance and passion in pursuit of their education. Way to go, Kiara!

In this study, Dr. Na analyzed data of 304 Head Start caregiver-child dyads and found food resources management was associated with feeding practices in low-income caregivers, with or without household food insecurity.

Nan was the recipient of the 2021 John A. Milner Endowment Funds for $1,000. Nan will use the money to support her thesis data collection from the ‘Food and Mood’ Study. Congratulations, Nan!

What is the incidence rate of restless leg syndrome (RLS) in pregnancy? What are the risk factors related to new onset of RLS? The study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), by Dr. Muzi Na and colleagues, has some answers. Read the AAN news release and the Penn State Today news release for more details.

At ASN 2020, Nan’s abstract was selected as one of the 6 distinguished abstracts to be presented as a flash oral presentation at the Community and Public Health RIS. Her work focused on the relationship between Food Insecurity and Mental Health Status Among Immigrants . Nan has been nominated for two awards, the Student Interest Group Award and the Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science, Community and Public Health Nutrition Topical Area. Details of award information can be found here. Many Congratulations, Nan!