The SURGE program aims to strengthen academic performance and professional skills among undergraduate nutrition and health-related majors through diverse training and mentorship by nutrition professors.
SURGE in Nutrition Research Learning Community: Supporting Undergraduates in Research to Gain Experience
How does it work?
Undergraduate students partake in a 24-week program that spans the fall through the spring. Students can rotate in 3 labs and conduct research under the mentorship of Dr. Koh, Dr. Price, and Dr. Zhu. Undergraduate researchers will gain training from cell culture, to molecular techniques, to animals.
Timeline:
| Announcement | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | September - November | December - February | March - May | June |
| Recruitment, Application Review, Interview | Student Assignments, Pre-program Survey, Orientation | Midterm Evaluation, Student Feedback | Abstract, Poster Preparation | Post-program Survey, Outcome Evaluation, Presentations |
Our 2021 SURGE Fellows
SURGE Achievement
Graduate School Enrollment
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Jessie Waltenbaugh was accepted to graduate school in Spring 2022 to continue her Master’s study in Human Nutrition at Texas State University.
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Kelly Green was recently accepted to graduate school to continue her Master’s study in Human Nutrition at Texas State University.
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Jordan Ritter has recently submitted his Graduate application for the Human Nutrition Program.
Professional Developments
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Analynn Cooper has submitted an abstract as a first author to Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) 2022, which will be held in Orlando in October, as well as an abstract to the Undergraduate Research Conference at Texas State University. She is also a co-author of an abstract recently submitted to American Society of Nutrition (ASN).
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Kelly Green has submitted an abstract for the Advances in Pathogenesis and Molecular Therapies of Liver Cancer, which will be held in Boston in May.
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Kelly Thornton has submitted an abstract for the Advances in Pathogenesis and Molecular Therapies of Liver Cancer, which will be held in Boston in May.
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Jessie Waltenbaugh has submitted an abstract for the Advances in Pathogenesis and Molecular Therapies of Liver Cancer, which will be held in Boston in May.
Awards and Other Recognitions
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Analynn Cooper has been selected to receive the Undergraduate Research Fellowship Award by Texas State University. Her project will be focusing on how maternal diets can impact selected gut microbiota among offspring.
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Kelly Thornton was nominated by the Nutrition and Foods program for the Presidential Upper-Level Scholarship Award.
Faculty Researchers:
Dr. Jie Zhu, Dr. Gar Yee Koh, & Dr. Ramona Salcedo Price
| Project | PI | Opportunities to Engage in Research* |
|---|---|---|
| Maternal Obesogenic Diet, Methyl-Donor Nutrients Supplementation, and Offspring Metabolic Disorders | Dr. Jie Zhu | · Animal handling and feeding, oral gavage, tail-vein blood drawn, breeding, wet smear, glucose tolerance (in vivo) · DNA and RNA extraction, Real-time PCR · Methylation assay, Metabolomic assay |
| Dietary Fiber, Vitamin D, and Gut Microbiome | Dr. Gar Yee Koh | · Preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies · Cell culture techniques · ELISA assay, western blot, immunohistochemistry, Real-time PCR · Gut microbiome analysis |
| Obesity and Cancer | Dr. Ramona Salcedo Price | · Preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies · Tissue analysis · Aseptic cell culture techniques · Physiological techniques |