An Opportunity to Grow

UNCG Senior Jahleen Gourdine has a bright smile, sunflowers on her shirt, and steadfast determination to become a dietitian.

She’s the picture of a standout student – excelling in her human nutrition and dietetics major and receiving multiple awards, including the Louise E. Lowe Scholarship. But Gourdine’s path to where she is today was bumpy.

Gourdine initially attended college after graduating high school in 2018 but left before receiving her degree.

“I was kind of in this limbo state. I didn’t really know what to do with myself,” Gourdine says. “But then I found this lifestyle of being vegan and very cautious about our footprint, and it led me down this nutrition path.”

Since then, Gourdine has been dedicated to dietetics, accumulating over 1500 hours as a dietary aide and supporting herself through school by working most nights as a registration specialist in the emergency department.

Now she’s engaging in undergraduate research focused on childhood obesity for her senior honor’s project thesis under the guidance of nutrition professor Dr. Lenka Shriver.

What’s for Dinner, Baby?

UNCG researchers leverage evidence-based strategies to support parents and babies, both locally and globally.

Read the full feature

Before getting hands-on with data, Gourdine volunteered in the iGrow laboratory where she familiarized herself with the research process and staff. “Everybody loved her,” Shriver says. “She’s a great team player. She fits right in.” As a mentor, Shriver enjoys exposing students to research and broadening their career options. “Any chance I have, I love working with undergrads.”

Access to iGrow

For the past year, Gourdine has had the unique opportunity to be a part of UNCG’s Infant Growth and Development study team. The $3 million NIH-funded iGrow study is led by faculty researchers in human development and family studies, nutrition, and kinesiology.

iGrow, which has since given birth to the iGrowUp study with new NIH funding, follows children from the womb to 5 years of age to better understand childhood obesity.

Shriver, a co-investigator on iGrow, has a specific interest in children’s appetite behaviors and how eating in the absence of hunger – such as snacking on junk food when the child has already had a full meal – can contribute to obesity.

“The studies that exist in older children suggest a positive association between eating in the absence of hunger and weight outcomes, but we really don’t have studies looking at toddlers or in longitudinal models,” Shriver says.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. I’m excited that Jahleen is able to dig deeper into our iGrow data and start looking at this young age.”

Gourdine is working with Shriver to analyze which factors, including socio-demographic characteristics and feeding practices, are associated with some toddlers eating more than others in the absence of hunger.

From analyzing data to writing a project abstract, Gourdine says participating in research has been a learning curve.

“Dr. Shriver has pushed me to write better and pay attention to how I’m reading these research papers. I really enjoy that,” Gourdine says. “I’m very thankful.”

Shriver describes Gourdine as a dedicated, organized, and goal-oriented team member. Over the past year, she says, she’s enjoyed watching Gourdine embrace research and grow in her skills.

“It’s a great example of the role research funding plays in shaping and strengthening our state’s workforce.”

Gourdine graduates this May and plans to enter a master’s program in nutrition. She says she’ll carry her training with the iGrow team into her career as a dietitian.

“Being a part of research has shown me the groundwork, evidence, and real people behind those numbers,” Gourdine says. “As a dietitian, it makes my recommendations a lot more credible.”

Story by Rachel Damiani
Photography by Sean Norona

UNCG Nutrition

iGrow Study

Help us build a healthier world.

Nutrition, B.S.

M.S.

Ph.D.