Jeralyn Langford, was awarded the title of first place winner for Health Sciences research presentation in the 25th Annual SAEOPP McNair/SSS Scholars Research Conference for her oral presentation entitled, “Association of Dietary Pattern with In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) Outcomes.”

Langford’s research investigated the effect of healthy diet pattern and processed food intake among a sample of women undergoing IVF at UAB’s infertility clinic. She found that those who became pregnant consumed more unprocessed foods and less ultra-processed foods than those who did not become pregnant. Her work is one of the first to evaluate the impact of processed foods on fertility and IVF outcomes. Therefore, she concluded that, “more work should be done in this area”.

Langford is an undergraduate student in the UAB School of Health Professions, majoring in Biomedical Sciences and a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. She aspires to become a medical scientist that focuses on disparities in women’s health and reducing the prevalence of infertility. Langford is extremely grateful to the UAB McNair family and her mentors; Barbara Gower, PhD and Valene Garr Barry, MS for the opportunities, exposure to research, and their continuous support. In the future, Langford hopes to continue developing her craft as scientist.