Program Leadership

Dr. Sudip Bajpeyi is the director of the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences PhD Program and the director of the Metabolic, Nutrition and Exercise Research (MiNER) Laboratory. He is a professor of Kinesiology in the College of Health Sciences, joining the department in 2012. Dr. Bajpeyi completed his PhD in Bioenergetics at East Carolina University. His research interests include the effects of exercise training on insulin action, lipid metabolism and mitochondrial bioenergetics in obese and type 2 diabetic populations; translational approaches to inform the study of molecular mechanisms of lipid metabolism and insulin action in in vitro (cell culture) models.

Darlene Muguiro is the program manager for the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Ph.D. Program and the Director of Media and Communications for the College of Health Sciences dean's office.

Prior to her current appointment, she held leadership positions within the university advancement offices at New Mexico State University and The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), focusing on corporate and foundation fundraising within the context of two comprehensive capital campaigns. In addition to her work in higher education, Ms. Muguiro has also served as a consultant, specializing in communication, grant writing and fund development, and marketing. Ms. Muguiro received her BBA in Marketing and Master of Public Administration degrees from UTEP.