Student Bios

Laura Daray
MS Student
ldaray1@lsu.edu

Laura Daray earned her B.S. from LSU in May of 2007. She majored in kinesiology with a concentration in fitness studies.  She returned as of spring 2008 for a master's degree with a thesis in exercise physiology.  During her final undergrad semester she interned and worked at PBRC as a research associate on the POLY study. While at PBRC, she assisted Dr. Leanne Redman in focusing on the changes in body composition, insulin resistance, fat cell size, and cardio capacity of obese females with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCS) over the course of a 16 week exercise regimen. She handled all cardio and personal training sessions at Pennington’s fitness center and assisted with most clinical appointments as well. 

Research Interests:
Laura's research interests at this point include the effect of exercise on body composition and immune function.  A current interest and potential thesis topic is the training effect (specifically resistance training and marathon training) on CRP (C-reactive protein) levels.

Tara Henagan

PhD Student

thenag1@lsu.edu

Tara received her  B.S. in Biological Sciences from LSU in 2004.  From 2004-2007 she was a Research Associate at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 2004-2007.  While at Pennington, Tara was focused on the molecular signaling pathways involving leptin crosstalk through the melanocortin 3 and 4 receptors in the hypothalamus and lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation in adipose tissue. Tara also took part in research investigating the role of a novel splice variant of peroxisome proliferator-activated PPAR-gamma coactivator 1 (PGC-1) in fat metabolism.

Research Interests:

Tara is interested in studying the effects of exercise mediated genomic changes in the cell signaling pathways involved in the immune response as they are related to the regulation of cytokine production. It is well established that exercise alters immune function. More specifically, acute exercise is known to increase the number of activated macrophages that, in turn, secrete cytokines involved in the inflammatory response, such as IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-a. Conversely, chronic exercise is shown to downregulate the pro-inflammatory response and upregulate anti-inflammatory cytokines, specifically IL-10. Macrophages are also known to possess melanocortin 3 receptors (MC3R) that may act in the mediation of the anti-inflammatory response. She is focused on elucidating the role of MC3R in the hypothalamus and on macrophages in the periphery during the immune response induced by acute and chronic exercise.

Publications:

Zhang, Y., G. E. Kilroy, et al. (2005). "Targeted deletion of melanocortin receptor subtypes 3 and 4, but not CART, alters nutrient partitioning and compromises behavioral and metabolic responses to leptin." FASEB J. 19(11): 1482-1491.

Mollie Hong

M.S. Studen

mhong1@lsu.edu t

Mollie graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Kinesiology/Movement Science in May of 2005.  At Penn State, she was a teaching assistant for a senior-level Advanced Fitness Assessment and Appraisal class and taught exercise to residents of a local retirement community, The Village at Penn State.

Research Interests:

Her primary research interests are in the physiological and psychological aspects of obesity and eating disorders and the role that physical activity and fitness play in prevention and treatment.  Currently, she is exploring the role of growth hormone in obesity.

Helena Rietschier
Undergraduate Student
hriets1@lsu.edu

Helena is currently working on her B.S. in General Studies with minors in Nutritional Sciences, Kinesiology, and Psychology at LSU. She will be graduating in May and will begin graduate school in August under Dr. Laura Stewart. She has just recently begun volunteering in the obesity laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. She is interested in the role nutrition and exercise play in the development and prevention of chronic disease. In particular, she is interested in the effect of dairy calcium and vitamin D with resistance exercises on weight maintenance following weight loss. Currently, her goals include strengthening her laboratory skills and narrowing in on her research interests.

Jeff Soileau

M.S. Student

jsoil16@lsu.edu

Jeff Soileau graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.S. in Kinesiology focusing in Human Movement Science.  While at LSU, Jeff served as a teaching assistant for Human Anatomy Laboratory and History as well as Philosophy of Kinesiology.  He was also the assistant to the Undergraduate Internship Coordinator.  Jeff was the 2006 Jerry Owens Memorial Scholarship Recipient.

Research Interests:

Jeff’s research interest currently lies in the effect of the combination of exercise and nutrition on immune function.  He is currently looking at the antioxidant quercetin’s influence on Type 2 Diabetes, body composition, and immune function in obese mice.