Mayfield Wins Bumpers College Outstanding Honors Thesis Competition

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Sarah Mayfield

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sarah Mayfield, a food science major and member of the Honors College at the University of Arkansas, has been named winner of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences Honors Student Board Outstanding Thesis competition for the spring semester.

The award recognizes excellence in honors thesis achievement as judged by a panel of faculty and students in the Bumpers Honors Program.

Mayfield’s work was selected following a review of her submitted thesis and letters of nomination, a public oral presentation and judging by the panel. Working with her mentor, Andrew Proctor, University Professor of food science, Mayfield researched how to create shortening and chocolate with a soy oil, resulting in lower bad cholesterol, increasing good cholesterol and boosting metabolism to burn more calories while being heart healthy and fighting fats.

The soy oil produced by Proctor contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which, according to Mayfield, has anti-obesity, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic and anti-arthritis properties, is cholesterol-free and low in saturated fat. A recent U of A animal study showed that the CLA-enriched oil had demonstrated health benefits, including a 50 percent reduction in cholesterol and activation of a fat-burning gene.

Last summer, Mayfield traveled to Belgium, world-renowned for its chocolate, to develop CLA-enriched chocolate bars and chocolate spread in the University of Ghent’s Cacaolab, where she worked with professors Ashok Patel and Koen Dewettinck. A SURF grant, an Honors College International Research Grant, and funds from Bumpers College and the University of Ghent supported her research.

“Sarah’s thesis was singularly among the best honors theses and undergraduate research projects I have every reviewed,” said Curt Rom, director of the Bumpers College honors program. “Sarah’s honors experience has been very full with study abroad, excellence in the classroom and involvement in her discipline. She is very deserving.”

Mayfield, from San Antonio, Texas, plans to pursue a doctoral degree in food science at the U of A, then work as a chemist in the food industry.

“Congratulations to Sarah on her outstanding research and presentation,” said Bumpers College Dean Mike Vayda. “She made great use of our study abroad opportunities, and we’re excited to see what will come of her research. All of our students submitted outstanding work and we are proud of all of them.”

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.