Mango Study Participants Needed

Thanks for your interest in the Mango Cardiometabolic Study. This study will test the health benefits of mangos. The primary goal of this study is to determine the effect of eating mangos daily for 12 weeks on glucose, inflammation, oxidation, and lipids in individuals with prediabetes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is conducting the study?

This study is one of the many dietary studies conducted by a team of nutrition researchers at Loma Linda University.

Celine Heskey, DrPH, MS, RDN

Celine Heskey, DrPH, MS, RDN

Principal Investigator

Dr. Heskey is an Associate Professor of Nutrition, and currently the program director of the MPH Nutrition program at Loma Linda University. She completed her BS degree in Dietetics and MS degree in Human Nutrition at Andrews University, and her DrPH in Nutrition at Loma Linda University. She has prior experience working as a clinical dietitian (Registered Dietitian Nutritionist) at Advent Health-Altamonte and Loma Linda University Medical Center. Her research interests include nutrition epidemiology, and clinical trials examining the effects of various nutrients and foods (including n-3 fatty acids, nuts, avocado, and mango) on adiposity and cardiometabolic health, including risk factors for heart disease and diabetes.

Sujatha Rajaram, PhD

Sujatha Rajaram, PhD

CO-INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Sujatha Rajaram, is a Professor of Nutrition at Loma Linda University School of Public Health. She is a Co-Investigator for the Mango Cardiometabolic Study. She has contributed significantly to the research activities at the Center for Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyle and Disease Prevention. She has served as both principal investigator and co-investigator on several clinical trials, specifically feeding studies on tree nuts, and plant omega-3 fatty acids with respect to cardiometabolic disease outcomes and healthy aging.

Joan Sabate, MD, DrPH

Joan Sabate, MD, DrPH

INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Joan Sabate has a doctoral degree in public health nutrition, and has worked in the area of Environmental Nutrition for over 10 years. He has a broad, multidisciplinary background including nutrition, epidemiology, and statistics. He was Chair of the nutrition department at Loma Linda University for 17 years and led many research projects to completion. Currently, Joan is the co-Director of the Environmental Nutrition research program at Loma Linda University.

Amandeep Wright, MPH

Amandeep Wright, MPH

Research Manager

Amandeep Kaur is a Research Manager at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health. She did her Master’s in Public Health at SPH. She has been working with the PI of the Mango Cardiovascular Study and the nutrition research team for the past five years. She has expertise in coordinating and managing the conduct of clinical trials. She has been involved with larger clinical trials like the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trail, which was a multi-center trial (UCLA, Tufts University, Penn State and Loma Linda University) with over a 1000 participants .She was the main coordinator for the Loma Linda site during the trial. Her role in Mango Cardiovascular Study will include among other things, the coordination of recruitment and selection of participants, clinic visits, and data collection and management.

Rawiwan Sirirat, DrPH

Rawiwan Sirirat, DrPH

Research Associate

Dr. Rawiwan Sirirat is a research associate at Nutrition Research Center. She is a Registered Dietitian with doctoral degree of public health in Nutrition. Her main interest is in nutrition epidemiology. Dr. Sirirat has accumulated research experience over the years via multiple clinical trials as well as a large cohort study. Her experiences include nutrition data collections, quality control of the data as well as nutrition data management. She is also well acquainted with laboratory analyses of nutrition biomarkers, bio specimen processing and handling. She will be primarily involved in data and bio specimen collection and handling in this study.

Socorro Carranza, MPH, RDN, CDCES

Socorro Carranza, MPH, RDN, CDCES

GRADUATE ASSISTANT

Socorro Carranza is currently a doctoral student in nutrition at Loma Linda University School of Public Health. Socorro obtained her master's degree in public health nutrition from LLU and has been working as a registered dietitian nutritionist for almost 20 years, specializing in diabetes and weight management. She is the founder of Peak Nutrition Academy and is a part-time college nutrition instructor.

Razan Albar, MPH

Razan Albar, MPH

GRADUATE ASSISTANT

Razan Albar is currently a doctoral student in the Nutrition Department at Loma Linda University School of Public Health. Razan earned her Master of Public Health from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in Louisiana. Razan has worked extensively in the inpatient settings in several hospitals in Saudi Arabia, where she applied her expertise to support patient recovery and health management. Since 2018, she has been a teaching faculty member at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where she continues to contribute to the field of nutrition education and research. Additionally, Razan is the founder of the Education and Innovation Awareness Center, an initiative dedicated to enhancing the overall health of Saudi Arabian communities through education and innovative health solutions.