Current Researchers and Staff

Edwin Allan

Contact: [email protected]
Résumé (PDF)

Hometown: Damolgu, Ghana

Education: Edwin received his M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems and is currently a doctoral student at MSU. He received his B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science from the University of Ghana.

FPDL Involvement: Currently, Edwin is researching the culinary and nutritional quality of Montanan vs. Washington lentils and chickpeas and experimenting with extrusion processing of Montana lentils and chickpeas. As a master's student, he led the development of a culturally-sensitive peanut product for smallholder farmers in Kaffrine, Senegal. Edwin developed his passion for improving value-added agriculture as a youth in Damolgu, where crop farming is the main occupation.

Awards:

• Outstanding Graduate Student in Sustainable Food Systems, Montana State University - 2020 spring semester
• Montana State University’s graduate award in Scholarship Excellence – 2020 spring semester
• Judges’ Choice Award in Montana State University $50K venture competition
• First Place in the Developing Solutions for Developing Countries Competition (DSDC), Institute of Food Technologists 2020 conference

Other Interests: Playing basketball, reading novels, and playing word games.

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Genesis Chavez

Contact: [email protected]

Hometown: Chinandega, Nicaragua.

Education: Genesis is currently enrolled in Sustainable Food Systems master program at MSU. She earned a B.S. in Food Technology Science and Technology from Zamorano University, Honduras.

FPDL Involvement: Genesis's research focuses on co-development of a culturally-appropriate food product in alliance with the Boys and Girls Club of the Flathead Reservation & Lake CO. The product features highlight the cultural heritage of the Native Americans by incorporating underutilized locally produce food ingredients, including bison meat, serviceberry (saskatoon berry) and Indian ricegrass. The project emphasizes active participation of the community towards promoting Food Sovereignty and consumer-led product development to deliver a healthy and nutritious snack.

Awards: NUTR 496 Product Pitch Video Competition, Spring 2020. Genesis presented her product development progress in a 5 minute video at the AERO (Alternative Resources Organization) mid Term Celebration meeting. She was selected as a finalist of Three Minute Thesis Competition in the MSU College of Education, Health and Human Development’s, Spring 2020.

Other interests: Languages, volunteering, outdoors, Nicaraguan Folklore dance, and people’s eating behaviors.

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Sumedha Garg

Contact: [email protected]
LinkedIn | Résumé (PDF) | Research summary video

Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand

Education: Sumedha is currently pursuing a M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems at MSU. She received her B.S. in Food Technology with a major in Food Product Development from Massey University, New Zealand. 

FPDL Involvement: Sumedha's master's thesis supports the value-added product and market development of cold-hardy berries (namely, Aronia, Blackcurrants and Saskatoon berries). With this, she hopes to support Montana farmers to diversify their income streams and promote crop biodiversity in a land where a monoculture climate seems to dominate.

Awards: A summer 2021 Blackstone Launchpad Fellowship is allowing Sumedha to further explore her research area and develop entrepreneural skills for the developed prototype. She was also awarded as an Institute of Food Technology Finalist for the 2021 Graduate Research Video Competition.

Other interests: Baking, hiking, traveling internationally, exploring different lifestyles

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Mattie Griswold

Contact: [email protected]

Hometown: Stanley, Idaho, USA
Education: Mattie is currently pursuing an M.S. in Sustainable Food Systems at MSU. She received her B.A. in Environmental Studies-Geology from Whitman College in 2013.
FPDL Involvement: Mattie is assisting with research in Native food product development. Her master’s thesis is focused on creating a Tribal bison farm-to-school model that supports economic, ecological, and community wellbeing.
Other interests: Gardening, food cooking and preserving, and exploring Montana in every season.

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KayAnn Miller

Contact: [email protected]

KayAnn’s research is situated at the intersection of mental health, nutrition, and culture. Her research hypothesizes that diet plays a key role in mental-health disparities experienced in Indigenous communities in Montana as measured by rates of depression, suicide ideation and suicide attempts. KayAnn finds the potential links between adequate nutritional intake, depression and suicide reduction intriguing from a cultural standpoint, given the high nutritional quality of many pre-contact Indigenous diets, defined as diets consisting of food from plants and animals native to the Americas prior to 1492. KayAnn has a background in Indigenous food foraging, gardening, harvesting and preparation, and most recently served as Executive Sous Chef at one of Montana State University’s dining halls. During her time there, KayAnn worked extensively with various stakeholders both on and off the MSU Bozeman Campus to indigenize the campus’ pantries and to bring Indigenous foods to MSU’s dining hall, retail and catering menus and operations.