What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources?
I am an assistant professor in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology (NEP). My appointment is 70% research, 20% teaching, and 10% service. My research program focuses on understanding how dietary patterns, exercise, and the food environment impact human health and host-microbiome interactions, with the goal of addressing health disparities. My teaching responsibilities include facilitating patient-based learning in Block 1 for medical students and teaching the graduate course on microbiome-related hot topics in NEP. I currently mentor three doctoral students, one rotation doctoral student, one visiting scholar, one postdoc, and two undergraduate students in research.
How long have you worked in CAFNR?
I started working at Mizzou in July 2020, during the early stages of the pandemic. Initially, I was 100% with the School of Medicine (SOM), but in 2021, my position shifted to 80% SOM and 20% CAFNR.
What do you enjoy about working for CAFNR/Mizzou?
What I enjoy most about working for CAFNR/Mizzou is the opportunity to collaborate with faculty across diverse research areas, including food science, animal science and more. Being part of CAFNR has also opened doors for me to participate in USDA multistate projects, which has expanded both my research scope and my professional network.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
In my free time, you’ll find me traveling to new places, getting lost in a great book or show, and working out—I love lifting weights and am working on adding more running and hiking to improve my cardiovascular fitness. Working out keeps me mentally strong, boosts my mood, helps me do my job better and keeps me fit for all my travels. But, to be honest, while I enjoy staying active, I probably enjoy my couch time even more! There’s nothing quite like recharging with a good book or show.
What is something your co-workers/other CAFNR employees don’t know about you?
Something many people don’t know about me is that I’m an army brat. My father was in the Indian army, and with much of my extended family in the armed forces, we moved around a lot—seven different schools, to be exact! It made me resilient and adaptable, which helped when I transitioned careers. Before going to grad school, I actually worked as a software engineer. On a more fun note, I love dancing, especially salsa, and I enjoy the ‘idea’ of adventure sports. I even went skydiving once! I’m eager to try something equally adventurous—though ideally without jumping out of a plane again!