Recipe for Research – Samantha Jezak ’22 and Olivia Templeton ’22

Recipe for Research – Samantha

Jezak ’22 and Olivia Templeton ’22

Samantha Jezak ’22 and Olivia Templeton ’22 are really passionate about food. From Jezak’s business fromsamsplate to Templeton’s Instagram feed, their love for good, healthy food is apparent. So, it’s no surprise that these two foodies who study nutrition at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse University teamed up for a study on the benefits of a three-month vegetarian diet among adults.

Both Jezak, a nutrition science major, and Templeton, a nutrition major, were eager to conduct research. It was one of the reasons they both chose to attend Syracuse University. Aware of their interest in leading their own research, Garay gave them guidance regarding the existing research on the benefits of a vegetarian diet. The two seniors noted that many studies failed to address a timeline of how long a person had been following the diet. Jezak, who is interested in inflammation in the body, felt it was important to address the length of the diet when recruiting people for a vegetarian study. “That’s why we took this approach of analyzing when we see the effects of a vegetarian diet and how that affects inflammation,” Jezak says. The two are hoping this study provides more information on if and when changes occur in the body while on a vegetarian diet. Specifically, they are investigating how biomarkers, diet quality, body composition and stress are affected by making this dietary change.