Our outreach efforts are aimed at educating the larger community on the powerful connection between diet and mental well-being. Through ongoing research, we're uncovering how dietary choices directly impact stress levels and mental health—a relationship that remains surprisingly underrecognized despite its profound implications.

By sharing our findings through presentations, conference proceedings and peer-reviewed publications, we aim to empower individuals with actionable knowledge. Our goal is simple: help everyone make informed dietary changes that can meaningfully improve brain function  and overall mental well-being.

Fall 2025

Fall 2025 was a meaningful semester for the BMINDS team as efforts were dedicated to collecting and coding data for a new research study examining diet quality, gut health, and emotional regulation as well as community outreach. The team also submitted three abstracts, all of which have been approved for presentation at the 2026 American Physiology Summit.

BMINDS launched its first Walk for Wellness event, an initiative aimed at promoting health and well-being that the team plans to continue in future years. This event helped students get involved, network with health leaders in the community, and learn about how nutritional neuroscience is shaping the future of health.  

BMINDS continued its ongoing food pantry outreach partnership with the Binghamton Food Pantry at Downtown Catholic Charities. As part of this sustained collaboration, the team created nutritious recipes using the pantry’s weekly ingredients.

On campus, BMINDS hosted their fifth cooking workshop, teaching students how to prepare budget-friendly, gut healthy meals. The team also collaborated with TruthPharm to educate students on overdose prevention, the neuroscience of addiction, and provided Narcan training and Narcan kits.

Additionally, BMINDS spoke at the Let Us Dream Conference, where research assistants Katelyn and Rania, and the team’s faculty mentor, Dr. Begdache, served as panelists for “Food as Medicine”. This opportunity allowed the team to engage with community leaders and contribute to meaningful discussions about how nutrition, education, and policy healthcare shape the future of preventive health. 

Fall 2025 Photos

BMINDS' gut healthy themed cooking workshop was a success!

Let Us Dream Conference 2025

Spring 2025

The BMINDS team had a productive and rewarding Spring 2025 semester featuring research, presentations, and community engagement. Team members dedicated significant effort to developing posters for conferences and writing a new manuscript examining diet quality and health habits associated with emotional intelligence and pathological eating behaviors.

BMINDS returned for their third appearance at the 2025 American Physiology Summit held in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition, the team presented at NUTRITION 2025 in Orlando, Florida. BMINDS interns shared their work at Binghamton University’s annual Research Days.

Throughout the semester, BMINDS engaged in several interdisciplinary collaborations focused on nutrition and overall wellness. In partnership with ENDAlz, the team led an educational event on the cognitive benefits of various teas while serving and discussing their role in supporting brain health. BMINDS also collaborated with the American Red Cross to assess and expand students’ knowledge of wellness, blood health, and nutrition, while serving strawberry parfaits. Additionally, the team partnered with the Gardening Club to teach students about the health benefits of different herbs and gave out herbs that were germinated by the team.

BMINDS once again hosted a cooking workshop on campus, teaching students how to prepare affordable, nutritious meals. Beyond the university, the team expanded its outreach efforts by presenting to nine classes at Chenango elementary school, educating students on the importance of healthy eating and balanced meals.

Spring 2025 Photos

BMINDS presented at the 2025 APS Conference

Fall 2024

Fall 2024 was a productive and impactful semester for the BMINDS team. The team focused on collecting and coding data for their new study on diet quality and emotional intelligence. Additionally, the team members worked on and submitted three abstracts currently pending approval to be presented at the 2025 American Physiology Summit.

BMINDS began their food pantry outreach collaboration this semester with Binghamton Food Pantry at the Downtown Catholic Charities by creating nutritous recipes with their weekly ingredients to place in the donation bags every other week. The BMINDS team also volunteered at the food pantry near Thankgiving to help hand out turkeys. 

The team also hosted their third semesterly cooking workshop, which demonstarted to students how to make a few healthy desserts on a budget. Additonally, BMINDS particpated in multiple campus events such as the FRI Student Faculty Mixer, Binghamton's U-Fest, Matters of the Mind, PULSE, and the Harpur Research Panel. BMINDS also worked with the Health and Wellness department along with the B-SMART team to organize the B-EAT Hunger food drive to support CHOW and the Binghamton Food Pantry. BMINDS also collaborated with Swipe Out Hunger to host jeopardy on camous to help students learn about food insecurity, nutrition, and mental health.

BMINDS was invited to attend the Let us Dream Conference where Ushima, the BMINDS research lead and Dr. Begdache, the BMINDS mentor were panelists for "Empowering Voices in Addicition Recovery." This was an incredible experience and the team was able to connect with leaders in the community working to end the stigma around addiction.  

Fall 2024 Photos

Spring 2024

The BMINDS team had a very successful and busy Spring 2024 semester! The team worked hard to prepare posters for multiple conferences as well as write a new manuscript on food insecurity and its impact on health behaviors. 

The team made their second appearance at the 2024 American Physiology Summit held in Long Beach California! The team also presented new posters at the Nutrition 2024 Conference in Chicago, Illinois this summer! Meanwhile, the BMINDS interns presented at Binghamton University's annual Research Days and the team's future Research Lead, Ushima Chowdhury, also presented at the Binghamton Biomedical Research Conference. 

Within the University, BMINDS held its second semesterly cooking workshop, which taught students how to make nutritious and budget-friendly meals centered around the Mediterranean Diet. BMINDS also returned to the semesterly Matters of the Mind mental health event and collaborated with the Eating Awareness Committee and University Counseling Center to present the impacts of food insecurity from a variety of professional perspectives such as dieticians and mental health counselors! 

BMINDS extended its outreach efforts into the local community by presenting to parents at the Benjamin Franklin Elementary School on the importance of, and recommendations for, healthy food consumption. The team also attended the Chenango Valley Community Night to interact with local families and provide them with food access resources.

Fall 2023

The Fall 2023 semester was busy for BMINDS! The team presented in several classrooms, hosted numerous outreach events, and collaborated with various on-campus groups. 

To start the semester, BMINDS collaborated with Swipe Out Hunger to host a trivia night. They also worked hard on collecting data, which they presented in several classrooms to promote their ongoing study. In October, BMINDS collaborated with BSMART to host a succulent sale and another trivia night. 

In November, BMINDS participated in the Matters of the Mind mental health event and introduced their new semesterly event, a cooking workshop! This workshop taught students how to make nutritious, budget-friendly meals. Attendees were gifted a cookbook featuring several healthy recipes, as well as nutrient and cost breakdowns for each recipe. 

BMINDS also participated in a food drive, "B-EAT Hunger", and collected over 95 lbs of food to support local community members! After a long semester, BMINDS hosted a yoga & destress event to help students decompress.

American Physiology Summit 2023

In April of 2023, the BMINDS team traveled to Long Beach, California to present their work on food insecurity and neurobehaviors. All three of our abstracts were selected for an Abstract of Distinction award!!

Experimental Biology Conference

 In April of 2022, the BMINDS team traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to present their work on diet, mental distress, and perceived stress. 

Bearcat Chats Interview

In April of 2021, BMINDS was interviewed by Jacob Wilkins for a Binghamton University publication called "Bearcat Chats". "Bearcat Chats" is a publication that selectively interviews organizations on campus who seek to benefit the student body.

"Ahead of Binghamton University Research Days (April 26-30 2021), Jacob Wilkins speaks with the BMINDS team about their research, which looks at the relationship between diet and stress. "

Bearcat Chats: How Your Diet Affects Your Stress Level: https://youtu.be/x0rDKB_sZCA 

Tabling

Tabling across the Binghamton University campus is a unique way in which our organization attempts to reach students. By appearing at popular spots across campus, BMINDS members can directly interact with the student body on an individual level.

 We provide interactive content, discuss the implications of our findings with students, acquire research participants, and fundraise. Tabling helps to disseminate our findings, as well as continue to establish us as a growing influential group of the student body. 

We are constantly striving to create compelling content that piques student interest and serves to enrich their knowledge about diet and mental health. Below are some informal photos team members took at one such tabling event: