FIU Department of Dietetics and Nutrition | Annual Newsletter 2023-2024

DEPARTMENT OF DIETETICS AND NUTRITION NEWSLETTER

Message from the Chair

This year, our department experienced several significant changes. Three of our esteemed faculty members retired, and we welcomed two new assistant professors (tenure-track). Additionally, we appointed a new Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) Director, hired a new

academic advisor, and created a new position for a Dietetic Internship Clinical Coordinator, for which we are currently hiring. We are also in the process of hiring two more tenure-track assistant professors. These changes have positively impacted our department.

We are proud to share that many of our faculty members received important recognitions and awards this year. Our students have also been honored with several awards, and numerous alumni have been recognized for their achievements. All these honors and awards are highlighted in this newsletter.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to this newsletter and to those who continue to make us proud with their performance, dedication, and generosity.

Sincerely, Cristina

Palacios

Please send alumni updates to: crpalaci@fiu.edu

DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

FIU Obesity Research Symposium

Great presentations on obesity research at FIU. More than 35 people participated.

FANS

Recruitment Event

Recruitment event in Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (FANS) (April 2024).

Nutrition Research on High-Risk Populations

Amy Gates, Ph.D., RDN, LD, Associate Medical Director at Reckitt/Mead Johnson presented a seminar entitled Nutrition Research on High-Risk Populations for the Colloquium Series Talk.

Workshop on AI

3-day departmental workshop on AI; 14 faculty and 6 adjuncts participated.

SDA Speed Meet and Greet

The Student Dietetic Association (SDA) hosted a “Speed Meet & Greet” event in March in honor of National Nutrition Month.

OUR DEPARTMENT

AT A GLANCE

Number of Students in Spring 2024

Undergraduate: 219

MS: 78

PhD: 23

DI interns: 18 Rankings

PROFESSOR ACHIEVEMENTS

Dr. Cristina Palacios appointed to the HHS/USDA 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

Dr. Cristina Palacios was appointed to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Dietary Guidelines have a nationwide impact as they form the basis of our federal nutrition policy and programs, support nutrition education efforts, guide local, state, and national health promotion and disease prevention initiatives, and inform various organizations.

Dr. Marianna Baum recognized as one of the Top 2024 Women in FIU History FIU recognizes women who have embraced great challenges, led by example and established legacies. Dr. Marianna Baum has a career total of nearly $100 million in grants. She is an FIU Top Scholar with hundreds of publications and conference presentations to her credit and a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology.

Dr. Catherine Coccia is the Chair DP for the Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Dr. Catherine Coccia is Chair DP for the Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (FAND). FAND is the state’s largest association of dietetic and nutrition professionals who are at the forefront of health and nutrition information and education, with > 3,000 members.

Dr. Sabrina Sales Martinez is part of the ASN Foundation Board of Trustees

Dr. Sabrina Sales Martinez is part of the American Society of Nutrition (ASN) Foundation Board of Trustees for 2023-2025. ASN is the leading nutrition organization in the U.S.

Dr. Tania Rivera is a leader for the FAND and SFAND

Dr. Tania Rivera is the Chair of the Membership Committee for the Florida Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition (FAND) and Secretary for the South Florida Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition (SFAND).

Dr. Nadine Mikati is serving in multiple roles at ASN and SFAND

Dr. Nadine Mikati is the Early Career Nutrition Representative in the Board of Directors for the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). She is also the President-Elect of the South Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (SFAND) Administrative Council for 2024-2025 and Nutrition Care Manual® (NCM®) Board of Editors.

Dr. Jacqueline Hernandez is participating in an NIDDK-funded program

Dr. Jacqueline Hernandez was invited to the inaugural National Enrichment Program (NEP) meeting entitled “Navigating the Transition from Early-Stage Investigator to Mid-Career: Challenges and Opportunities for Developing Careers in Diabetes Translation and Health Equity Research” at Stanford University in June 2024. NEP is an activity of the NIDDK-funded Centers for Diabetes Translation Research (CDTRs).

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS

Nicole Vitale, Ph.D., RD, CSP, LD/N

Nicole Vitale was awarded the National Science Foundation award (STEM Education Individual Postdoctoral Research Fellowship) to conduct her proposal "Building on Culturally Affirming Family Practices to Increase Youth STEM Identity Through Science Talk in the Kitchen".

Peggy O’Neill, RD

Peggy O’Neill is the VP of Nutrition and Wellness at Morrison Healthcare. She is also a fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the former President for the Florida Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics (FAND), and she is the director at large for the Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals (ANFP). She co-founded Dietitians4Dietitians, a nonprofit organization to provide aspiring dietitians with the resources to succeed in their RD exam.

Laurel Goldston

Laurel Goldston recently completed her MS in our department. She was awarded the Doctoral Research Excellence Assistantship (DREA) to pursue a PhD at Texas A & M University (only 4 awards of this type is given).

AWARDS

PhD graduate Nicole Vitale was awarded the UGS Excellence Award for Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant and the Outstanding Graduate recognition at the Spring 2024 graduation.

PhD student Gabriela Proaño received the Stempel Publication Award and the UGS Excellence Award for Outstanding Paper for her paper published in Lancet Regional Health – Americas. She also won the Stempel Travel Award.

PhD graduate Jose Bastida received the Dissertation Year Fellowship Spring 2024.

PhD graduate Haley R. Martin won the FIU Generations Ahead Staff Scholarship (December 2023).

PhD student Alayne Gatto received an award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for the Baby-Feed trial.

PhD students Kathryn Ayres, Ayodele Tyndall, and Alexandra Briceno were awarded the Stempel Travel Award to present their poster/oral presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nutrition (ASN).

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

*Prapkree, L., *Deringer, R., Coccia, C., Huffman, F., & Palacios, C. (2024). Effect of using the snackability app on snack quality among US college students with overweight and obesity: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American college health: J of ACH, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2024.2337008

*Prapkree L, *Uddin R, and Palacios C. Snacking behavior is associated with overall diet quality, snack quality, and weight in US overweight and obese college students. Nutrition Research. April 2023 (114): (41-49).

*Prapkree, L., *Uddin, R., Jaafar, J. A. A., Baghdadi, M., Coccia, C., Huffman, F., & Palacios, C. (2023). Snacking behavior is associated with snack quality, overall diet quality, and body weight among US college students. Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.), 114, 41–49.

Hernandez J,*Goico E, & Palacios C. (2024). Associations between ultraprocessed and minimally processed snacks consumption and overweight/obesity among college students in South Florida. Journal of American college health: 1–9.

*Jeune, S. C., Graziano, P., Campa, A., & Coccia, C. C. (2024). Interoception and self-regulation of eating behaviors and weight status in college students. Journal of American college health: 1–12.

*Proaño, G. V., Rodriguez Moreno, L. M., Arciniegas, M. J., *Sifre-Acosta, N., Espinal, C., Chowdhury, R., Hernández Flórez, L. J., & Palacios, C. (2024). Effectiveness, barriers, and facilitators of overweight and obesity prevention strategies in Latin America; a scoping review and qualitative study in Colombia. Lancet regional health. Americas, 29, 100656.

*Martin, H. R., Brown, D. R., Fluney, E., Trepka, M. J., Marty, A. M., Roldan, E. O., Liu, Q., Barbieri, M. A., & Baum, M. K. (2024). Community-Engaged Research: COVID-19 Testing, Infection, and Vaccination among Underserved Minority Communities in Miami, Florida. Vaccines, 12(2), 117.

*Martin HR, Nan H, Liu Q, * Bastida Rodriguez, J. A., *Gieseken S, *Johnson A, Enrione E, Trepka MJ, Brown D, Marty AM, Sales Martinez S, Campa A, Roldan EO, Hernandez Suarez Y, Barbieri M, Palacios C, Bursac Z, Baum, M.K. (2024, September). Disability and COVID-19: Challenges, testing, vaccination, infection, and healthcare disengagement during the pandemic among underserved, racial/ethnic minorities. Disability and Health Journal. In Press.

*Martin, H. R., Hu, N., Liu, Q., *Bastida Rodriguez, J. A., *Gieseken, S., *Johnson, A., Enrione, E., Trepka, M. J., Brown, D. R., Marty, A. M., Sales Martinez, S., Campa, A., Roldan, E. O., Hernandez Suarez, Y., Barbieri, M., Palacios, C., Bursac, Z., & Baum, M. K. (2024). Disability and COVID-19: Challenges, testing, vaccination, and postponement and avoidance of medical care among minoritized communities. Disability and health journal, 17(2), 101571.

*Martin, H. R., Sales Martinez, S., Stebliankin, V., Tamargo, J. A., Campa, A., Narasimhan, G., Hernandez, J., Rodriguez, J. A. B., Teeman, C., *Johnson, A., Sherman, K. E., & Baum, M. K. (2023). Diet Quality and Liver Health in People Living with HIV in the MASH Cohort: A Multi-Omic Analysis of the Fecal Microbiome and Metabolome. Metabolites, 13(2), 271.

D'Agostino, E. M., Garcia, J. R., Bakken, S. R., Wruck, L., Nilles, E. K., Stefano, T. A., *Martin, H. R., Hungler, A., Lee, R. E., Perreira, K. M., Baum, M. K., & Brown, D. (2023). Examining COVID-19 testing and vaccination behaviors by heritage and linguistic preferences among Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish RADx-UP participants. Preventive medicine reports, 35, 102359.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Tamargo JA, *Martin HR, Diaz-Martinez J, Delgado-Enciso I, *Johnson A, * Bastida Rodriguez, J. A., Trepka MJ, Brown DR, Garba NA, Roldan EO, Hernandez Suarez Y, Marty AM, Bursac Z, Campa A, Baum M.K. (2024, January). Drug use and COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and infection among underserved, minority communities in Miami, Florida. PLoS One. In Press.

*Alcivar, J., *Mijares, V., Hernandez, J., & Palacios, C. (2024). Perceived Health and Diet Quality Among Hispanics in South Florida. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 26(1), 243–246.

Lara-Castor, L., Micha, R., Cudhea, F., Miller, V., Shi, P., Zhang, J., Sharib, J. R., Erndt-Marino, J., Cash, S. B., Mozaffarian, D., & Global Dietary Database (2023). Sugar-sweetened beverage intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries. Nature communications, 14(1), 5957.

Kallis, M. G., Campos, M., Helen-Mays, M., & Palacios, C. (2023). Acceptability and Ease of Use of an Educational Website among Women, Infants, and Children Program Participants in Puerto Rico: A Pilot Study. PR Health Sci J, 42(3), 246–248.

Coccia, C., & *Vitale, N. (2023). Re: "Ignoring Clustering and Nesting Effects Are Invalid Analysis Choices in a Trial with Clustered Data in Trials Testing Causal Effects". The Journal of school health, 93(10), 965.

Clarke, R. D., Garba, N. A., Barbieri, M. A., Acuna, L., Baum, M., Rodriguez, M. S., Frias, H., Saldarriaga, P., Stefano, T., Mathee, K., Narasimhan, G., & R Brown, D. (2023). Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters of lowcost air purifiers in community-based organizations. Environmental monitoring and assessment, 195(11), 1320.

Burke, S. L., Grudzien, A., Li, T., Garcia, S., Sales Martinez, S., Jurich, E., *Jimenez, D.J., Hernandez, J., Liu, Q., Tyrell, T. A., Campa, A. L., *Johnson, A., Bursac, Z. & Baum, M.K. Interactions between apolipoprotein E genotype, hepatitis C, and cognition and depression in Miami Adult Studies on HIV (MASH) participants. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, ID#: JBME-D-23-00579

Palacios, C., *Bolton, J., *Wang, W., *Gatto, A., *Concepción, L., Sadjadi, M., Varella, M., & Hannan, J. (2023). Development and pilot testing of the Baby-Feed web application for healthcare professionals and parents to improve infant diets. International journal of medical informatics, 174, 105047.

Nosratabadi, S., Ashtary-Larky, D., Hosseini, F., Namkhah, Z., Mohammadi, S., Salamat, S., *Nadery, M., Yarmand, S., Zamani, M., Wong, A., & Asbaghi, O. (2023). The effects of vitamin C supplementation on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes & metabolic syndrome, 17(8), 102824.

Brown D, Barbieri M, Baum M.K., Clarke R, Garba N, Stefano T, Mathee K, Narasimhan G, Acuna L, Saad Rodriguez M, Frias H, Saldarriaga P. (2023, September). Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters of low-cost air purifiers in community-based organizations", In Press, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

Javanbakht, M., Khan, L., Mustanski, B., Shoptaw, S., Baum, M. K., Mehta, S. H., Kirk, G. D., Lai, S., Moore, R., Milloy, M. J., Kipke, M., Hayashi, K., DeBeck, K., Siminski, S., White, L. M., & Gorbach, P. (2023). Substance use and other factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake among people at risk for or living with HIV: Findings from the C3PNO consortium. Preventive medicine reports, 35, 102300.

*Yndart Arias, A., Kolishetti, N., Vashist, A., Madepalli, L., Llaguno, L., & Nair, M. (2023). Anti-inflammatory effects of CBD in human microglial cell line infected with HIV-1. Scientific reports, 13(1), 7376.

NEW IN THE DEPARTMENT

Dr.NadineMikati

NewDidacticProgramin Dietetics(DPD)Director

Dr.JacquelineHernandez NewTenureTrackAssistant ProfessorandtheDietetic InternshipDirector

Dr.KennethBeneby NewAcademicAdvisor

Dr.PiaHenfridsson NewTenureTrack AssistantProfessor

Dr.PreciosaMartinez-Motta NewPostdocworkingwith Dr. CristinaPalacios

GRANTS

Dr. Cristina Palacios is the PI of the MetA-Bone Trial (R01). She was awarded a Diversity Supplement and an Administrative supplement.

Dr. Marianna Baum is the PI of two R01s funded by NIDA, NIH to explore Epigenomic Aging in HIV and Extracellular Vesicles in HIV-Associated Neurological Impairment.

Dr. Sabrina Sales Martinez received a grant from the National Dairy Council to evaluate the associations between dairy intake and metabolic syndrome among Hispanics. She is also a multi-PI of an RCMI project.

Dr. Catherine Coccia received an award from the National Pork Board for her Family Meal Project.

Dr. Jacqueline Hernandez received a Diversity supplement under the R01 of Dr. Cristina Palacios.

Other news

DPD Accreditation visit by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) will be November 3-5, 2024. Search for 2 full-time, 9-month tenure track faculty positions at the rank of Assistant Professor. Preference will be given to registered dietitians with expertise in community nutrition, public health nutrition, or health disparities, along with postdoctoral experience and with potential for securing funding. For more information and to apply for this position, please click here. Job Opening ID 532057. The application review process will commence on 4/5/2024 and will continue until the position is filled.

Thank you to all faculty, staff, students, and everyone who has made the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition the wonderful place that it is. We thank you all for making a positive difference in our lives and the lives of others through your hard work and dedication in educating, learning, researching, and promoting better health to all.

Please send alumni updates to: crpalaci@fiu.edu