

	Department Homepage NutriBits Colloquiums

NutriBits Summer, 2005

Welcome to the Department of Nutritional Sciences on-line publication NutriBits. It describes accomplishments of alumni, students, faculty and staff. I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear of your accomplishments and comments, so they can be included in the next edition.

If you would like to receive an e-mail notification when new publications are posted, send an e-mail to Abby Diehl, Alumni Relations Coordinator for the College of Health and Human Development.

Mike Green
mhg@psu.edu

Previous Editions

Table of Content

Alumni

Students

Faculty and Staff

Congratulations Alumni

Claire Hasler ’84g, executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute, took part in the ceremonial ground breaking for the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. Scheduled to open in early 2008, the Institute will house UC Davis' top-ranked Departments of Viticulture and Enology and Food Science and Technology.

On June 21, 2005, the Penn State Student Newswire had an article titled Elevated CRP Can Foil Diet's Ability to Lower Cholesterol. The article highlighted research conducted by Kirsten Hilpert, a doctoral candidate in the nutrition sciences option of Penn State's Integrative Biosciences program. Kirsten researched the effect of Step 1 cholesterol-lowering diets on men and women with moderately elevated cholesterol. Her research indicated that those who have both elevated cholesterol and elevated CRP levels could not lower their LDL-cholesterol levels with the Step 1 cholesterol-lowering diet. This held true even when soy protein, a food with an approved FDA heart healthy claim, was added to the diet.

The study is detailed in a paper, Lipid Response to a Low-Fat Diet with or without Soy Is Modified by C-Reactive Protein Status in Moderately Hypercholesterolemic Adults, published in a recent issue of the Journal of Nutrition. Hilpert's co-authors are Penny Kris-Etherton, distinguished professor of nutritional sciences, and Sheila West, associate professor of biobehavioral health. http://live.psu.edu/story/12479

Sarah Dion Kelly '99 completed an MS in nutrition at Boston University and then completed a dietetic internship at Boston University Medical Center. She is currently working as an Endocrine Dietitian and is a Certified Diabetes Educator at the Diabetes Center in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Alice H. Lichtenstein ’73g was one of 14 individuals chosen by the University of Kuopio in Finland to receive an honorary degree in June, 2005. She is currently a senior scientist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at The Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

Christopher R. Mohr '99 completed his PhD in exercise science at the University of Pittsburgh, in July 2005. Chris also has his own company, Mohr Results (www.MohrResults.com). Through his company, he provides consultations for individuals seeking improved athletic performance and wellness, consults with a variety of media outlets and dietary supplement companies, and writes or contributes to both academic and consumer publications. He is also an advisory board member for Men’s Fitness and the nutrition editor for OC Flair Magazine.

Chris works with the National Endurance & Sports Trainers Association (NESTA) and helps individuals become Certified Fitness Nutrition Coaches. For more information about NESTA, check out this website http://www.nestacertified.com/nutritionist.html.

Research published by Laura Murray-Kolb '95, '98g, '03g, was highlighted in Science in Africa, Africa's first on-line science magazine. Laura has worked with John L. Beard to study the relationship between iron status and bonding between mothers and their newborns.

She is quoted in the article as saying, "New mothers should be aware of their iron status which, we know now, affects the child as well as the mother. Iron deficiency is easy to correct and could be a big part of post-partum problems with mother/child interactions."

Amy Rossi Mobley '96 was selected to receive the Mary Swartz Rose Memorial Graduate Fellowship. She is seeking a doctoral degree in nutrition at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Sakita Sistrun ’99g completed her dietetic internship at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE and successfully passed the registration exam in 2004. She is currently the bio-nutrition research manager at Virginia Commonwealth University’s General Clinical Research Center in Richmond, VA. She manages two staff members and together they produce specialized meals to meet specific nutrient guidelines for a variety of research projects looking at issues such as weight control, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Denise Talko '98 completed a combined dietetic internship and masters degree program at Case Western Reserve University. She currently works as the clinical manager at Roxborough Hospital, a 120 bed community hospital located in Philadelphia. She likes the smaller hospital setting because she is able to get to know the staff and patients. In addition to patient care, she is able to advocate for patients who are not able to do so. Education is also a part of her position. She helps educate both dietetic interns and medical school interns and residents. She states that it is enjoyable to introduce them to the profession, encourage them, and help them in their clinical training.

-top-

Congratulations Students

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2005 in nutritional science.
The spring commencement ceremony was held on Saturday, May 14.

For the commencement, Julie Ritchie and Holly Hantz were selected to be co-marshals for the College of Health and Human Development and Jennifer Dorward was selected to be marshal for the Department of Nutritional Sciences. College marshals lead all graduating students from the nine departments and schools within the college into the commencement ceremony. The department marshal leads graduating students from the Department of Nutritional Sciences

Julie Ritchie '05 received an honorable mention at the 2005 Undergraduate Research Exhibition Award Winners for her research project titled, Foot-to-Foot Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Validated in Older Adults. Separately, Julie was awarded two scholarships from the American Dietetic Association Foundation: the Irene J. Jones Memorial Scholarships and the District of Columbia Metropolitan Area Dietetic Association, Edith A. Jones Memorial Scholarships. She plans to use these scholarships to complete a dietetic internship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.

-top-

Faculty and Staff Activities

David M. Savastano and Mihai Covasa, assistant professor in nutritional sciences, recently published an article in the Journal of Nutrition titled Adaptation to a High-Fat Diet Leads to Hyperphagia and Diminished Sensitivity to Cholecystokinin in Rats. The article discusses the link between eating high fat foods and the suppression of the "stop eating" hormone cholecystokinin, or CCK. It has been picked up by many different news outlets include by The Washington Times, Philadelphia Herald, Discovery Channel, Reuters and other news agencies including radio and TVs.

Barbara Rolls, professor and holder of the Guthrie Chair and professor in nutritional sciences, was one of five specialists in the area of weight control highlighted in an article published in the May 2005 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. The article had each of the specialists give their personal strategies for maintaining weight. Other specialists interviewed in the article included Kelly Brownell, Andrew Weil, Marion Nestle, and Eric Rimm. O, The Oprah Magazine has a paid circulation of 2.5 million.

Scott Barbara, staff assistant in nutritional sciences, attended the 2005 Web Conference held at the Penn Stater Conference Center in June. This two day conference presented a wealth of information about how to help us make the department website conform to new standards set forth by the University and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The new standards will help us transform our website from a "lifeless billboard" on the information superhighway into a "valuable and exciting recruiting vehicle, speeding into the future." Watch for changes coming soon and beware of falling links!

Marie Kamp. director of the Didactic Program in Nutrition and instructor in nutritional sciences, received her Certificate of Training in Adult Weight Management in April 2005. The certificate program is sponsored by the American Dietetic Association. Separately, Marie will be presenting an all day session on the Challenge of Change for the Army Lodging Program on August 3, 2005. The program is being offered through Management Development Programs and Services which is part of Outreach at Penn State.

Marie Kamp was elected as a Delegate for the Pennsylvania Dietetic Association. She will be Delegate Elect for the year 2005-2006 and then a formal Delegate the following year.

On May 13, 2005, the fifth annual Penn State Nutrition Conference, coordinated by Jill Patterson, assistant professor in nutritional sciences, was held at the Penn Stater. Over 120 dietitians, extension agents, nurses, and other health professionals throughout the state of Pennsylvania attended the conference, which was titled Update 2005: Nutrition, Fitness, and Women's Wellness. Topics and presenters included Energy Balance and Cancers in Women by Rachel Ballard-Barbash, NCI; Exercise, Estrogen and Women's Health by Nancy Williams, PSU; The Impact of Iron Status on Women's Health by Laura Murray-Kolb, PSU; Current Issues Related to Bone Health by Rebecca Corwin, PSU; and Vitamin D, Beyond Bone Health by Margherita Cantorna, PSU.

Barbara Lohse, associate professor in nutritional sciences and director, Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Program, Jill Patterson, assistant professor in nutritional sciences, and Rose L. Martin, instructor in nutritional sciences, were selected to be Educational Materials Editors for the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavioral.

This July, Carla Miller, assistant professor in nutritional sciences, served on the special emphasis panel for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to evaluate diabetes proposals. Separately, this summer, Carla Miller is sponsoring Amina Gilyard, an undergraduate research assistant, as part of the Minority Access to Research Careers program.

Yu-Yan Yeh, professor in nutritional sciences, presented an invited paper at an international conference entitled Significance of Garlic and its Constituents in Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease. The conference was held at Georgetown University Conference Center, Washington, D.C., April 9-11, 2005. His presentation was on the topic: Homocysteine-lowering Action by Altering Remethylation and Transsulfuration: Another Cardiovascular Protective Factor of Aged Garlic Extract.

A. Catharine Ross, professor and holder of the Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair in Nutrition, gave a presentation on Retinoid Regulation of Macrophage Functions in THP-1 Cells and in vivo at the 14th International Symposium on Molecular Cell Biology of Macrophages, held in Omiya, Japan, June 2-4, 2005. The conference focused on nutritional regulation of macrophages and immunity. Qiuyan Chen, a Research Associate at Penn State, played a lead role in the research conducted for the presentation. While she was in Japan, Ross enjoyed a reunion with four former post-docs now living in the Tokyo area. The reunion included Takaki Shimada and Yuji Yamamoto who worked in the Department of Nutrition at Penn State between 1994 and 1999.

Anne Corr, instructor in nutritional sciences, held a week-long summer day camp for 24 middle school aged youths from July 18-22, 2005 in the Foods Lab of the Henderson Building. The camp was designed to discover the fun of cooking and to learn about our diverse cultures. This year's theme was American Chef: Road Trip with campers preparing recipes from throughout the United States. Sample recipe titles include Couscous with Cranberries and Hazelnuts; Red, White and Blue Potato Salad; and Strawberry Pizza. Click here for more information and images of this successful event.


Campers Sophie and Simon layer their tuscan bread with grated mozzarella.	American Chef: Road Trip camp staff

-top-

Questions or problems with this site? Email healthhd@psu.edu.

Directories: Administration, Faculty/Staff, and other contacts.