Ohio State students research links between nutrition, disease prevention

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Ohio State students research links between nutrition, disease prevention

Forum brought together graduate students, national researchers

Students in various disciplines presented research at The Ohio State University's 22nd Annual Russell Klein Nutrition Research Symposium. The event was held recently at the university's 4-H Center.

Ohio State's Graduate Society of Nutritional Sciences organizes the symposium in Klein's memory each year. Klein held dual appointments at Ohio State as an assistant professor in the human nutrition program in the College of Education and Human Ecology and The James Comprehensive Cancer Center. His interdisciplinary research into the link between nutrition and cancer paved the way for innovative prevention strategies.

While the symposium began as an event commemorating Klein, it has evolved into a talent incubator, said Ouliana Ziouzenkova, associate professor of human nutrition and faculty adviser to the Graduate Society of Nutritional Sciences.

"Scientific excellence is recognized alongside organizational and administrative leadership, presentation skills, fundraising and competition development," she said. "Together, these activities elevate the next generation of students, with each event setting a higher standard for those who follow."

The symposium included student oral presentations and poster sessions and keynote addresses by Edward Giovannucci, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Stephen Hursting, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"This gathering fosters mutual appreciation of talent and encourages collaboration," Ziouzenkova said. "It is a place where faculty and students from different disciplines and generations come together - to reconnect with old colleagues and build new relationships."

The Graduate Society of Nutritional Sciences presented this year's symposium in partnership with the American Society for Nutrition.

"It's all about community because when you go into grad school and you go into research, oftentimes you feel like you're siloed," said Daniel Do, a graduate research associate majoring in food science and technology who serves as the president of the graduate nutrition society.

"Having opportunities to connect like this in a symposium that gathers pretty much everyone in the department together to just talk and … get to know each other as people, I think that's what it's all about. And that's really what drew me to be a part of this whole planning effort, is being able to bring everybody together and build that community."

In planning the symposium, Do worked with a committee of students that included Ashwini Chebbi, Maheen Imtiaz, Evan Miller and Cam Scott. Do's research explores the potential of tomato phytochemicals to combat cardiovascular disease.

"I originally was interested in nutrition and dietetics growing up because I was involved in sports," he said. "I was interested in how fueling the body can lead to better performance."

Jillian Pierson, a graduate fellow majoring in nutrition, researched how diets rich in whole grains affect the gut microbiome and glucose levels in clinical trials.

"We ran a randomized, controlled clinical trial looking at people with pre-diabetes, so they have metabolic risk. They have elevated blood glucose levels. We fed them either whole wheat bread or refined bread as part of a fully controlled diet for 14 days," she said. "We ended up with 39 individuals. And we found that the diet alone improved their glucose and insulin."

In previous years, Pierson participated in planning the symposium.

"I think it's a great place for our entire field to come together because there's so many different departments and colleges related to nutrition here at Ohio State," she said. "It's a good way for students to meet different faculty members or some of the invited speakers that we bring in. It's a good networking opportunity."

Patrick Sellers, a graduate teaching associate majoring in human nutrition, studied the relationship between proteins and potentially fatal diseases.

"We found that across hundreds of patients, one single protein stood out among the rest as a mortality-associated pattern. And we further studied this protein and discovered that a vitamin A-related pathway can suppress it," he said. "I just kind of kept following the data. … I was really just trying to learn new techniques."

The symposium provides opportunities for students to exchange ideas and discover innovative research that peers in related fields are exploring, Sellers said.

"You get new perspectives and beyond that, you develop the skill of actually communicating your thoughts and your findings," he said. "You can have the coolest results and the coolest research in the world, but if you can't communicate it, it's not as cool."

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