On Friday, April 13, Mary Vander Wal, MSN, FNP, successfully presented and defended her dissertation “Evaluation of effects of supplementation with aloe extract and whey protein on aspects of HIV enteropathy in a cohort of children in Ethiopia.” Vander Wal’s aim was to explore the impact of these nutritional supplements on measures of mucosal barrier integrity, immune activation, and clinical outcomes.

While on faculty at Calvin College, Vander Wal led student groups to Ethiopia. Now, she lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which is where she performed her research. According to Vander Wal, approximately 130,000 children in Ethiopia have HIV, the majority of whom are undernourished. Vander Wal’s study, which included 111 children, concluded that there was no significant benefit of an aloe-enriched whey protein drink in comparison to an iso-caloric chocolate drink. Her next steps include other trials, such as the impacts of social support and anthelmintics (deworming) in HIV-positive children.

“I am so thrilled to have been able to conduct this trial in Ethiopia,” says Vander Wal, who is a PhD candidate through the College’s Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology (CMIB) program. “Even though our interventions didn’t show significance, we documented important findings related to high viral loads, nutritional status, and immune function, which contribute to the understanding of pediatric HIV in a developing world context. I am so thankful, as a nurse practitioner, to have had the opportunity to be a part of the CMIB program, where I was able to develop skills to look deeper into the impacts of nutrition on immune function.”

Vander Wal is mentored by Vilma Yuzbasiyan-Gurkan, PhD, associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies, professor, and cancer researcher at the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine; Barbara Smith, PhD, professor and associate dean for Research and the MSU College of Nursing; Rawleigh Howe, MD, PhD, senior scientist at Armauer Hansen Research Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Linda Mansfield, MS, VMD, PhD, DACVM, University Distinguished Professor and Albert C. and Lois E. Dehn Endowed Chair in Veterinary Medicine for the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine; and James Resau, PhD, adjunct professor at the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Vander Wal graduated in December of 2017. She plans to complete a certificate in Community Engagement here at MSU, and then, return to Ethiopia in September to complete some further lab assays related to her project with the intent of developing further trials.

To learn more about the College graduate students including CMIB, visit the College’s website.