Nutritional Sciences Welcomes McKale Montgomery

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Media Contact: Brittany Bowman | communications specialist | 405-744-9347 | brittany.bowman@okstate.edu

McKale Montgomery joined the Department of Nutritional Sciences as an assistant professor in August 2017.  

What is your educational/professional background?

I did my undergraduate degree in nutrition and dietetics at Texas Christian University, where I also completed my dietetic internship rotations, and became a registered dietitian in 2007. I completed my master’s and Ph.D. in nutrition at Oklahoma State University. I then taught food science and nutritional biochemistry for a short time before doing a postdoctoral fellowship in biomedical sciences at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona.

How did you get into your field of research?

During graduate school at OSU, my research focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling nutrient metabolism. Though I found this interesting, over time I became drawn toward doing more applied and translational research, which is why I chose to do a postdoctoral fellowship in a biomedical sciences department. However, while I was there studying cancer epigenetics, all my results kept pointing back to the importance of understanding what was going on with nutrient metabolism in cancer cells. I am grateful to now be back at OSU, running my own lab, which allows me to integrate my expertise in both areas.

What are the main goals of your current research program?

Our lab is interested in understanding how molecular signals (like gene mutations) and environmental cues (like nutrient availability) contribute to the development and progression of cancer. Currently, we are using model cell culture systems to determine the unique micronutrient requirements of individual cancer cell phenotypes in an effort to develop more effective therapeutic regimes.

What attracted you to Oklahoma State University?

I’ve always recognized the importance of food and nutrition in health but was really fascinated by how they were connected at a molecular level. While I enjoy the more basic side of science, I love that OSU has a great program with the potential to bring advances in nutritional sciences from the bench to the bedside. It makes everything I do seem so much more worthwhile.

What was your first visit to campus like?

I actually first came to OSU for an engineering camp when I was in high school and really thought I wanted to be an engineer. It was a great experience, but I had a lot of other things in mind at the time as well. When I first visited OSU before I got started in grad school, the thing that impressed me most (and still does to this day), is how comfortable and welcomed I felt. From the moment I stepped on campus it seemed like other people were happy I was here, and so I was too.

What is your favorite place on campus?

Probably my lab. Especially when experiments are going good.

What are you most enjoying so far about working here?

I enjoy the mix of research and teaching. I never have a boring day.

What’s something interesting about your area of expertise you can share that will make you sound smarter at parties?

I’m not sure this is interesting, but one thing I have found is that being an expert in nutrient metabolism makes you pretty unpopular at parties.