Lab News

Amber Chang is a third year PhD candidate in the Vanden Brink lab and was one of three winners for the 3-minute thesis competition hosted by the department of nutrition!  Her presentation highlighted her preliminary results for the NORAH CGM follow-up study looking at the relationship between PCOS and glycemic response in adolescents. Congratulations to Amber!

In October, members of the Vanden Brink Lab traveled to San Antonio, TX for the 2025 Annual meeting of the Androgen Excess & Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (AE-PCOS). AE-PCOS is an international organization dedicated to promoting the generation and dissemination of knowledge related to all aspects of Androgen Excess Disorders. At this meeting, several lab trainees presented their work as listed below Joelle Sfeir, PhD candidate, presented her work on Dietary Intake, Food Insecuri

Dr. Vanden Brink is a co-author on a recently published article in Diabetes Technology and Obesity Medicine in collaboration with authors from the University of Calgary and University of Manitoba. This article titled, "Feasibility of Continuous Glucose Monitor Use and Glucose Pattern Analysis in Females with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome," looks at the feasibility of continuous glucose monitors (CGM) in adults with PCOS. Click here to view the new issue!

New to the lab this fall are Makaila Van Buren and Madeleine “Maddie” Smith. Makaila (top) is a senior Nutrition major at Texas A&M university, planning to pursue PA school post graduation. She is passionate about the connection between nutrition and health and wellness, and is interested in how these factors affect reproductive health.  Madeleine (bottom) is a pre-medical student studying Biology and a nationally registered EMT. With hopes to pursue medical school, Madeleine

This summer, NURISh Interns Zoie Gavel and Sarah Grace Wisener worked with the Vanden Brink Lab with Amber Chang, PhD student, on a Systematic Review and Meta Analysis (SRMA). Over the summer, Zoie and Sarah Grace were tasked with screening abstracts and full text, and full text data extraction. Using this, they were able to gather preliminary data for their final projects including a poster presentation. Zoie compiled information on nutrient status and biochemical markers du

Over the summer, lab members Hannah Lamar and Joelle Sfeir traveled with Dr. Vanden Brink to present their research at the Endocrine...

Earlier this year, lab members Ellie Goen, Savli Patel, and Erlinda Pena traveled with Dr. Vanden Brink to the American Physiological...

This summer, we are welcoming Zoie Gavel and Sarah Grace Wisener to work as interns in the lab! Zoie and Sarah Grace are both rising seniors who are studying nutrition here at Texas A&M and have prepared the following bios about their future goals and their experience this far in the lab! Zoie: I am currently planning to complete a MS/DI, become a Registered Dietitian, and possibly get a PhD in nutrition in the future! This summer, I have been helping Amber with one of her pr

This May, Dr. Vanden Brink and Joelle Sfeir attended the American Society for Nutrition Conference in Orlando, Florida where Dr. Vanden...

Dr. Vanden Brink and PhD student Joelle Sfeir co-authored a newly published invited review in Clinical Endocrinology...

Joelle Sfeir, a 3rd year PhD student in the lab, presented at the Texas A&M Life Sciences Symposium this past February! Her presentation,...

Dr. Vanden Brink was recently awarded the Texas A&M Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture's Research Capacity Funding. This...

Joelle Sfeir is a third year PhD student in the Vanden Brink lab and has tied to win the 3-minute thesis competition hosted by the...

New to the lab this August are master’s student Erlinda Pena and undergraduate students Cloe Gonzalez, Maitreyi Ladkat, and Arantza Gandara! Erlinda (bottom left) is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology. Her career goal is to attend medical school and specialize in Obstetrics & Gynecology, with a focus on researching the long-term effects of reproductive health conditions and their public health implications. At the Vanden Brink lab, Erlinda assists wi

This summer, Dr. Heidi Vanden Brink published a new paper in Endocrinology , with the collaboration of Dr. Mark Roberson at Cornell...

Earlier this summer, the Vanden Brink Lab, in collaboration with research teams at Cornell and Weill Cornell Medicine, presented two...

The Vanden Brink lab traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to attend the annual ISBNPA conference held on May 20-23. ISBNPA is the leading...

Undergraduate research assistant Ellie Goen was featured in AGRILIFE TODAY, Texas A&M AgriLife’s digital magazine and newsroom. Ellie...