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Ship Biscuit and Salted Beef

New Aggie Research Scholars!

We would like to welcome four new Aggie Research Scholars this semester to our team who will be joining Thuy, Alyssa, and Matthew, our returning members.

Allison Le

Research Assistant

Degree(s): Nutritional Sciences (B.S.) from Texas A&M University, WIP

Myers-Brigg Personality Type: ISTJ-T

Interests: Trying new foods, tennis, baking, belting out One Direction songs (and the single career album songs as well), and all thrill rides that make your heart sink into your stomach

Favorite Book: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

One Amazing Thing I’ve Seen or Done: Hiking up a mountain in Costa Rica to go water rappelling (reverse rock climbing off of a waterfall)

Allison is a Nutritional Sciences undergraduate student at Texas A&M University. She is Houston born and raised from a Vietnamese-American family and enjoys everything related to food. In the future, she hopes to become involved in the healthcare field to follow in the footsteps of her father. Through her high school she had the opportunity to observe many different fields of medicine including, but not limited to, cardiology, gynecology, radiology, neurology, and urology. She enjoys playing tennis, as she played very competitively from when she was little to when she graduated high school. Even though she has lived in the same place all her life, Allison loves to travel and has been fortunate enough to explore various cities and countries across the world. Because of her travels, she plans to one day use her education and experience to help underserved communities around the world.

 

BENJAMIN CABALLERO

Research Assistant

Degree(s):

High School Diploma from Southwest Christian School, 2018

Myers-Brigg Personality Type: INFJ-T

Interests: Google Maps, watching movie clips, biking, taking walks with my dog Cowboy.

Favorite Book: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

One Amazing Thing I’ve Seen or Done: I witnessed open-heart surgery.

Ben was born and raised in the outer corner of Fort Worth, Texas. Beginning at age 5, he learned how to play the piano and later learned to play instruments such as the drums, saxophone, and trumpet in middle and high school. At age 7, he learned to become a good and hard-working student. Eventually, he learned how to appreciate the learning by taking an interest in the sciences and social studies by the time high school began. In high school, he actively studied biology, history, and global issues in Model United Nations YMCA Youth and Government. This logic helped him choose Texas A&M as the college to attend as a Health Humanities (USLA) major. In Fall 2019, he first learned about anthropology in the class of Medical Anthropology taught by Dr. Hopkins. Taking these Health Humanities classes and Anthropology classes inspired him to join this research opportunity to learn how to research more in the social and biological sciences.

 

DALIA RAWANDOOZI

Research Assistant

Degree(s): Anthropology (B.A.) from Texas A&M University, WIP

Myers-Brigg Personality Type: INTJ

Interests: Vampires, fashion, eating snow, and religion

Favorite Books: The Picture of Dorian Gray

One Amazing Thing I’ve Seen or Done: Visited the largest cemetery in the world – Wadi al-Salam in Iraq

Dalia Rawandoozi is an Anthropology undergraduate student at Texas A&M University. She is currently interning for Professor Allison Hopkins in the Planetary Health lab. Outside of school and work, Dalia enjoys spending time with her friends and pets. She also likes sewing, thrifting, visiting museums, and finding new funky music to listen to.

 

NATALIE SMITH

Research Assistant

Degree(s): Biomedical Sciences (B.S.) from Texas A&M University (WIP)

Myers-Brigg Personality Type: ENTJ

Interests: Traveling, exploring, going to concerts, sports, napping all the time

Favorite Books: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

One Amazing Thing I’ve Seen or Done: Went to a benefit concert that had former presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama with a surprise appearance of Lady Gaga

Natalie grew up in small town Bridgeport, Texas then decided to venture out to uncharted territories in College Station, Texas at Texas A&M University. As a first-generation college student, she is majoring in Biomedical Sciences with a minor in Neuroscience and anticipating to graduate in spring of 2021. She’s participated in a Global Medical Brigade in Honduras where she helped provide impoverished communities with sanitation stations, medicine, and clean water. She has also earned a supervisor position in the Department of Recreational Sports with Intramurals here at Texas A&M. Currently, she is hoping to attend graduate school and eventually earn a Ph.D.

 

We look forward to a productive semester! Stay tuned for our newest research results!