Dr. Nazmi's Graduate Students

Tianna Sheehan

My journey to Cal Poly took a circuitous route. I graduated from UC Berkeley in 2005 with a Bachelors of Arts in Women's Studies and a minor in Theater Performance History. I completed one semester at UC Hastings Law School before I realized that law was not the path I wanted to pursue. I began baking professionally and moved up the ranks to become manager of the dessert department at a well-established restaurant in Berkeley, CA. However, it was in teaching cooking classes for Cancer prevention and survival that I found my true passion: nutrition.

In 2009 I decided to meld my love of food and cooking with my enthusiasm for Nutrition. I aspired to study at Cal Poly because of its prestigious reputation and the opportunity to obtain a Master's degree in Food Science and Nutrition I first had to complete background biology, chemistry, and nutrition classes at Cuesta College, though, in order to establish a foundation of knowledge. Finally, in the Winter of 2011, I was able to begin my educational career at Cal Poly under the guidance of my adviser, Dr. Nazmi. Since then, I have had the privilege of attending challenging and rewarding classes in nutrition and the surrounding sciences. I have also begun my thesis work by studying the pre- and post-effects of nutritional and culinary intervention on the nutrition knowledge, culinary skills, and nutrition behavior of local middle school students!

I will be graduating in the spring of 2013 and hope to complete a Dietetic Internship in order to become a Registered Dietitian. My career goals are to work with public agencies in primary care prevention and design effective community outreach to provide targeted nutrition education. I truly believe that my time at Cal Poly has prepared me for the professional world and has helped me acquire the skill set needed for a successful career.

 

Ally Lund

I chose Cal Poly's Nutrition graduate program because I had the opportunity to collaborate on an exceptional community project (The Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo's Hunger Free Communities project.) I had enjoyed Cal Poly's undergraduate Nutrition program but felt that the hands on experience and research, and the individualized academic plan were what made the graduate program a great fit for what I wanted in an advanced degree.

My research on the Hunger Free Communities project involved getting a better picture of the hunger status in San Luis Obispo County. I worked with Cal Poly's STRIDE team and multiple community agencies to conduct surveys and interviews to better understand the roots of food insecurity among vulnerable populations in our community. My thesis focuses specifically on how different household characteristics (e.g. having children, being a single parent) affect food security among Latino families of San Luis Obispo County. I have had the chance to present my research findings at a hearing with Congresswoman Lois Capps, the CSU research competition and the American Public Health Association annual meeting.

 

Julie Lucca

Drinking alcohol can significantly impact the body causing temporary effects to metabolism, hormones, and behavior and continuous consumption and/ or excessive drinking can lead to more permanent physiological changes. Research has been shown that alcohol can be both beneficial and also harmful to health. One effect alcohol may have, is that it may impact the amount of glucose in the blood during fasting. Fasted blood glucose is dependent upon the activity of insulin secretion, and which can give information regarding an individual’s sensitivity to insulin. Insulin sensitivity is associated with Diabetes mellitus, the 7th leading cause of death in the US a disease affecting 25.8 million Americans or 8.3% of the US.

In order to examine the effects of alcohol consumption on fasted blood glucose, I conducted a study which involved 149 college students to complete a survey regarding alcohol consumption and behavior and provided a capillary fasted blood sample to measure blood glucose. I will then analyze amount of alcohol consumed and frequency of drinking with blood glucose, as well as examine possible confounding factors like age, gender, and socioeconomic status.

My research is unique because it studies alcohol consumption and fasting blood glucose among young adults; a population which is rarely studied and may suggest correlations to early signs of prediabetes and/or diabetes prevention.

 

Jessie Bierlich

In 2009 I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Nutrition and a minor in Food Science from Cal Poly. I took some time off from school and spent a little over 4.5 years in the wine industry as an enologist in Paso Robles wine country. After having several family members face serious health related illnesses, life was pushing me back into the direction of nutrition and I decided to pursue my Master's Degree in Nutrition. 

I chose Cal Poly because I wanted to work with Dr. Nazmi due to his research in nutrition epidemiology and his current work with an after school nutrition education cooking program called Pink and Dude Chefs. My current research with him is looking at the impact of what a nutritional education and culinary skills program has on fruit and vegetable intake in middle school children. During Fall 2014 we conducted several sites of Pink and Dude Chefs programs throughout the central coast and in collaboration with Vanderbilt University at several of their YMCA afterschool programs in Nashville, Tennessee. I am very excited to be teaching what I love - nutrition and cooking!

I plan on graduating in Fall 2015, applying to the Dietetic Internship, maybe pursuing a PhD, and eventually teaching at the college level after gaining experience in my field.