BLaST Scientist of the Month

September 21, 2017

University Relations

Melynda "Sheri" Coker has been named the September Scientist of the Month for BLaST, the Biomedical Learning and Student Training program, for her mentoring of undergraduate students and for her BLaST-funded research focusing on the One Health paradigm.

Coker returned to graduate school after more than 20 years of teaching experience in secondary biology and anatomy and physiology. Her undergraduate degree is in biological sciences with graduate-level work in dance and related arts. She is now pursuing her Ph.D. in natural resources and sustainability at UAF, and is entering her third year as a BLaST graduate mentoring research assistant. As a GMRA, she adds another level of undergraduate mentoring in a tiered mentoring process at BLaST, along with our faculty and staff.

Coker is interested in metabolic processes associated with consuming traditional foods. Using stable isotope infusion methods, she investigates the effect of wild, organic protein sources on human protein synthesis. Subjects in her study ingested reindeer and commercial meats on separate occasions. Blood samples from before and after consumption will be analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to determine which meat most significantly affected protein formation. These data will be the first to express feeding-induced changes in whole-body protein metabolism linked to the consumption of wild game. As a related project, Coker and her mentees are also creating a website, “Savor the Wild,” to address current scientific literature on nutrition, lifestyle and conservation. The site will also feature photos and recipes for wild fish and game. This research directly relates to the One Health concept that human, animal and environmental health are inextricably linked, and it promotes a strategy for expanding interdisciplinary collaborations and communications to attain optimal health for all.

Coker has mentored hundreds of students from a variety of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Her BLaST experience has allowed her to form mentor/mentee relationships with nine undergraduate students, two of whom have been BLaST scholars. Her team is trained in working with human subjects in a biomedical setting, learning the importance of proper ethics and privacy in experiments involving humans. Her mentees were engaged in participant recruitment and interviews as well as related biomedical laboratory procedures. After analysis, mentees involved in the process will be included in reports of findings.