Poorna Menon

My name is Poorna Menon and I am a junior Biology major from Houston, Texas. I am an undergraduate researcher, tutor for UT athletes, and NICU volunteer. I have a deep interest in maternal-fetal medicine and neonatal care/nutrition. Following my time at UT, I hope to attend medical school and become a physician.

Fun Fact: I love watching football!

Pranavi Kolli

My name is Pranavi Kolli, and I am from Austin, Texas. I am a second-year Nutrition major and undergraduate researcher at UT. I am interested in understanding how maternal health conditions and nutrition impact fetal and infant development. After graduating from UT, I hope to attend medical school.

Fun Fact: I love hiking and visiting national parks!

Marianna Deynzer

My name is Marianna Deynzer, and I am from Abilene, Texas. I am a Nutritional Sciences major with hopes of attending medical school after graduation from UT. My academic interests include maternal and infant nutrition, epigenetics, and metabolic health. In the future, I hope to incorporate my knowledge of nutrition into my career as a physician to effectively treat patients from underserved populations.

Fun Fact: I have a collection of cat mugs!

Kushi Kura

My name is Kushi Kura and I’m from The Woodlands, Texas. I am an undergraduate researcher at UT, majoring in public health and minoring in health care reform and innovation. I am interested in how nutritional interventions can be utilized to promote healthier habits and improve preventative medicine, specifically in the field of maternal, child, and infant nutrition. After graduation, I hope to go to medical school and continue advocating for women’s health.

Kara Nutson

My name is Kara Nutson and I am from Austin, Texas. I am a Public Health major currently in the accelerated program to receive my Masters in Public Health at UT. My interests include how maternal-fetal nutrition and feeding practices impact long term health outcomes. After graduation, I hope to attend medical school and incorporate my knowledge of nutrition into my career as a physician.

Fun Fact: I have two golden retrievers who I love!

Victoria Villegas

My name is Victoria Villegas, and I am from Houston, TX. I am a fourth-year Nutrition major at UT. My interests include learning about nutrition and its importance to our overall health, nutritional research, volunteering, and working with underserved communities. After I graduate from UT, I hope to attend medical school.

Fun Fact: I love to sing and am in a choir group here at UT!

Haley Salter

My name is Haley Salter; I moved to Austin from Glen Haven, Colorado and am studying Nutritional Sciences at UT. I want to help people with eating disorder recovery and I’m also interested in nutrition policy.

Fun Fact: I’m obsessed with coffee drinks and love making new recipes.

Nina Ricardez-Soto

My name is Nina Ricardez-Soto, and I am from El Paso, Texas. I am a third-year Nutritional Science major excited to participate and help with research. My interest lies in dentistry but I am really interested in how it correlates to nutrition. More specifically, I am interested in how nutrition impacts infants’ oral health as they enter adulthood and what interventions help promote good oral health. After graduation, I hope to attend dental school and incorporate my knowledge of nutrition to help provide the best care to my future patients.

Fun Fact: I absolutely love building Legos.

Maria Ortega Herranz

My name is Maria, I am from Spain, and I am a sophomore Nutrition major at UT Austin. I have a great interest in research, and passionate about the relationship between nutrition and disease. After graduating from UT I would like to go into the ICPD and hopefully become an RD and get clinical experience, or explore the sports nutrition field since I love sports.

Fun Fact: I have practiced a lot of sports like waterpolo and dancing.

Risha Rao

Hi! My name is Risha Rao. I am from Dallas, Texas and am a Public Health major. My interests in research include public health and nutrition research! After I graduate from UT, I’d love to go to medical school while also pursuing another degree (MPH or PhD) and would love to still be involved in an activity surrounding the issue of global health.

Fun Fact: I love to dance and am a co-choreographer for the Reggaeton Dance Club at UT!

*The Widen Lab accepts undergraduate researchers on a limited basis.

If interested, please fill out this application and send your résumé
to widen.lab@austin.utexas.edu.

*If you are interested in joining the lab for the summer or fall semester, please submit your application documents by April 1st. If you are interested in joining the lab for the spring semester, please submit your application documents by November 1st.

*Preference is given to individuals that can commit to volunteering
10 hours per week to the lab for two semesters, have or plan to take NTR 315, can write and
speak Spanish, and/or have experience in nutrition assessment.