About
Grace Shearrer, PhD
Dr. Shearrer earned her PhD in Nutrition from the University of Texas at Austin after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Shearrer specializes in maternal and child nutrition behavior.
Grace is from Denver, CO but now lives happily in Laramie, WY with her husband and their 4 cats (yes 4). Grace loves playing soccer, making green chile, and hanging out with her 2 brothers.
Graduate Students
Sara Ghasem Pour
Sara joined the M2AENAD lab in Spring 2022. She is a Master's student in the field of Human Nutrition with a passion for understanding the complex relationship between eating behavior and nutrition. As a member of the dedicated team at the Maternal to Adolescent Eating, Nutrition, and Development (M2AENAD) Lab, she is working to identify bio-behavioral risk factors for overeating and excess weight gain.
"As I work towards my graduation in Fall 2024, I am excited to continue contributing to the groundbreaking research at the M2AENAD Lab. In addition, I have ambitious plans to pursue a Ph.D. in the Biomedical and Neuroscience fields within our lab, where I hope to further explore the intricate connections between eating behavior and neural function and diseases.
My goal is to use my knowledge and experience to develop effective interventions that promote healthy eating habits and prevent obesity-related health conditions."
Muzayyana (Yanko) Akhmadjonova
Yanko joined the M2AENAD lab in Spring 2022. She has a medical doctor degree and now is pursuing her Ph.D. in Neuroscience.
“I am fascinated by learning how the human brain works and manages doing the largest variety of jobs among all the body's organs. Can you imagine that the brain controls every organ in your body? And no, it doesn’t just warrant your survival from the biological point of view, it also lets you think and understand this text and make your own opinion of it. I do believe that it’s amazing and I would like to contribute to revealing the mysteries of the human brain!”
Lab Helpers
Demi Dusenberry
Demi joined the lab in winter 2023 as the social media aide. She has her BA in graphic design from the University of Wyoming. Demi is also an artist, focused mainly in gouache painting and digital artwork.
Lora Acres, Senior Project Coordinator
Lora earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management and Leadership from Central Wyoming College in May 2023. She joined the lab shortly after.
Lora resides in the Riverton area with her husband and two girls. Her eldest is currently attending the University of Wyoming and her youngest is attending middle school. The family enjoys riding horses, fishing, and hunting. Lora keeps busy on the small family farm spending time with her horses, Jersey cows, dogs, cats, and chickens.
She looks forward to being the Project Coordinator in the Riverton area to help encourage and educate teen girls to improve their nutrition.