Meet the Students
Jon hard at work in the lab
The Department of Nutrition at UNCG has a very diverse group of graduate students. Below is a list of current students and a brief description of their interests. Students are grouped by areas of specialization (i.e. cellular and molecular nutrition, community nutrition and nutrition education, human/clinical nutrition, and master's non-thesis option). Please feel free to contact anyone for more information. (Click on photos to enlarge them).
Steve taking a break for a photo; Ioana studying
Cellular and Molecular Nutrition
Huiyuan (Dennis) ChenDennis is pursuing his PhD degree under the direction of Dr. Wai Jia. He is currently working with Dr. Jia at the Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components at the North Carolina Research Center in Kannapolis, NC.
Qian Sun
Qian is pursuing his PhD degree with Dr. Zhanxiang Zhou at the Center for Research Excellence in Bioactive Food Components at the North Carolina Research Center in Kannapolis, NC.
Steve Fordahl
Steve received his BS and MS degree in Nutrition from UNCG. He is now seeking a PhD degree with Dr. Keith Erikson.
Jon Messer
Jon received a BS degree in Biology from UNCG. He is pursuing a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Nutrition under the direction of Dr. Deborah Kipp.
Wan Shen
Wan received her MS degree from Buffalo University in New York and is seeking a PhD degree in Dr. Michael McIntosh's lab.
Xeuqing (Heather) Zhao
Heather joined us in 2009 from the College of Life Sciences at Beijing Normal University. She is pursuing her PhD degree under the direction of Dr. Wei Jia.
Wei Guo
Wei Guo earned his at the UNCG Nutrition Department BS. He is pursuing his MS degree with Dr. Ron Morrison.
Community Nutrition and Nutrition Education
Amber HaroldsonAmber received a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Dietetics and completed the Dietetic Internship and MS in 2010 at Eastern Illinois University. She is currently pursuing a PhD degree under the direction of Dr. Lauren Haldeman.
Danielle Nunnery
Danielle received her BS and MS degrees in Nutrition from UNCG. She is working with Dr. Jigna Dharod toward her PhD degree.
Lanae Ball
Lanae joins the Nutrition Department from Raleigh, NC where she earned her MS degree at Meredith College. She is pursuing her PhD under the direction of Dr. Jigna Dharod.
Lauren Sastre
Lauren earned her BS in Chemistry from Western Carolina University. She is working toward her PhD with Dr. Lauren Haldeman.
Ioana Scripa
Ioana received a BS in Biology from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2006 and her MS in Nutrition from UNCG in 2008. She is pursuing a PhD degree under the direction of Dr. Martha Taylor and will move on to the Dietetic Internship under Ms. Babbi Hawkins, Director.
Human/Clinical Nutrition
Leigh Ellen Laster Leigh Ellen graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2009 with a BA in journalism and mass communication and is currently seeking her MS degree under the direction of Dr. Cheryl Lovelady.
Elyse Shearer
Elyse received her MS degree in Public Health Nutrition at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and completed her Dietetic Internship with the California Department of Public Health. She is pursuing her PhD degree under the direction of Dr. Cheryl Lovelady.
Andrea Sorvillo
Andrea returns to the UNCG Nutrition Department after receiving her BS here and working as an undergraduate assistant with Dr. Cheryl Lovelady. Andrea will be pursuing her MS degree with Dr. Lovelady.
Master's Non-Thesis Option
The following students are enrolled in the MS program Non-Thesis (MSN) option:
Rebecca Allen
Jennifer Bailiff
Sarah Beaty
Julia Berkelhammer
Grace Burton
Hartly Collins
Kelli Davidson
Katie Drane
Shay Hopkins
Carolyn Linke
Edward Markus
Shane McDavid
Sarah Nahum
Mina Ghadimi Nouran
Carli Onksen
Janelle O'Hearn
Justin Plummer
Elizabeth Schonthal
Amber Soliday
Kate Towery
Bonnie Wilson
Kelsey Wilson
Dietetic Interns
The following students are enrolled in the Dietetic Internship program:
Jennifer Bailiff*
Sarah Beaty*
Jennifer Cournoyer
Sarah Howle
Leigh Ellen Laster*
Carolyn Linke*
Janelle O'Hearn
Christine Ross
Ioana Scripa
Andrea Sorvillo*
Allyson West
*Also current MS or PhD graduate students in Nutrition
