The Teachers College, Columbia University Masters degree graduates have consistently achieved an extremely high pass rate on the CDR’s Registered Dietitian Credentialing Examination. Graduates work in a variety of clinical, community, public health nutrition, food service and food advocacy settings. Here are several recent graduates and their career biographies, shared with current nutrition students during our annual alumni panel discussions:
Dr. Álvarez’s dissertation looked at Mexicans’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors regarding sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in the context of the 2014 10% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Dr. Álvarez’s current position is at the Statistics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome (Italy), in the development and validation of nutritional indicators derived from household consumption and expenditure surveys. She is currently working on improving the nutritional analyses conducted with the FAO and World Bank food security analysis (ADePT-FSM) software and leading a project to validate an indicator of micronutrient inadequacy.
Dr. Paul’s dissertation examined methodological process of developing a theory-based and behaviorally-focused intervention for Latina breast cancer survivors. Dr. Paul is the founder of Rachel Paul Nutrition Coaching & Communications, and is passionate about health promotion on the global scale. She helps college students and recent grads make healthy choices as “The College Nutritionist” on social media, reaching more than 100 thousand women daily, and has received recognition from Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, and Nylon Magazine. Dr. Paul’s research focuses on the development and evaluation of communication interventions for using social media, text messaging, and online platforms.
Dr. Riccardo’s dissertation examined nutrition education at congregate and home delivered meal sites and whether educators were providing theory-based and behaviorally focused nutrition education. She also sought to determine what resources and training educators need to provide more effective nutrition education to the older adult population. Dr. Riccardo is currently Program Coordinator and lecturer for the dietetics program at Rowan University. In addition to her course load, Chrissy is responsible for managing students in the coordinated dietetics program and finding them preceptors for their 1200 supervised practice hours during their graduate year of study. Dr. Riccardo has 15 years of clinical and community experience as a dietitian.
Dr. Ang’s dissertation was on the Wellness in the Schools (WITS) evaluation determining if WITS programming impacted school lunch consumption, as well as determining factors that increase fruit and vegetable consumption at school lunch. Dr. Ang is currently a Senior Research Fellow with the National University Health System (NUHS) Regional Health System (RHS) Planning Office in Singapore. He leads the RHS Evaluation Team on the evaluation of the NUHS post-discharge care programs, and the NUHS right-site care programs. Ian is part of the Healthy Promotion Board (HPB)-RHS Community Health Post (CHP) Review Workgroup, evaluating the process and health outcomes from in-community health and wellness programs across the nation.
Dr. Arbit’s dissertation was the development and validation of Meaning in Food in Life that systematically assesses the meanings associated with eating behavior and food choice. Currently, Dr. Arbit works with individuals, groups and organizations to support effective behavior change and enhance wellbeing. She coaches people on how to improve their relationship to food and designs and delivers group workshops teaching the evidence-based psychological skills for doing so. She recently produced an online course called Quiet the Noise: Introspective Tools for Food Freedom and Lasting Wellbeing, drawing on evidence-based techniques from Positive Psychology, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindful Self Compassion.
Dr. Cooper’s dissertation looked at the ways in which preschool teachers influence the food choices of young children through their beliefs, practices and feeding styles. She currently serves as Founding Director of Nutrition in the College of Health Professions at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. Her program recently received accreditation from ACEND, an arm of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She continues to research the nutrition of young children and adults’ influences on children’s food choices and eating behaviors. Dr. Cooper has served an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College and is a regular writer for Today’s Dietitian magazine.
Dr. Khorana’s dissertation was on the Wellness in the Schools (WITS) evaluation determining how WITS programming impacted physical activity levels, types of activities and pro-social behaviors at recess. Dr. Khorana is an ACSM accredited specialist in exercise physiology and nutrition who has been instrumental in accelerating and facilitating health and chronic disease management for diverse populations, ranging from elementary school children to firefighters. Dr. Khorana frequently features as a guest columnist in leading health and fitness magazines, including Well Blog (The New York Times), Reuters, Readers Digest, Insider, Healthline, Business Insider, Women’s Health, Healthination, Men’s Health, BeachBody blog, AAPTIV, and Everyday Health.
Dr. Luesse’s dissertation was the development and evaluation of the national In Defense of Food (IDOF) Curriculum, for the Public Broadcasting Service that is a companion to the IDOF documentary film featuring Michael Pollan. She is a Founding Partner and CEO at 8RES, LLC a boutique consulting firm in New York City that provides organizations with support in Research, Evaluation, and Strategy. Current projects include a multi-state evaluation of education programs across the northeast, building and evaluating a health education curriculum for one of the largest hospital networks in New York City, and supporting a local non-profit focused on growing leadership skills with disadvantaged, minority youth.
Dr. Arad’s dissertation developed a novel protocol to assess metabolic function in individuals with or at risk for type 2 diabetes. His dissertational work will help scientists and clinicians to personalize nutrition and exercise interventions for research and clinical purposes. Dr. Arad is continuing his work in diabetes, obesity, and metabolism as a researcher and clinician at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where he continuing to conduct research on how nutrition and exercise can be more effectively tailored to help manage chornic diseases. When Dr. Arad is not conducting research he can often be seen running, in prepartion for his next marathon.
Dr. Graziose’s dissertation focused on the impact of schoolbased nutrition education programs on elementary students’ eating behaviors as part of the FoodCorps evaluation. Throughout his career, Dr. Graziose has implemented nutrition education programs in various settings, such as schools, farmers markets, churches, and day care centers. Dr. Graziose is very interested in policies that influence food and nutrition education. He has served on public policy committees within professional societies such as the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior and the American Society for Nutrition. Currently, Dr. Graziose is a Health and Wellness Project Manager at Chobani, the leading manufacturer of Greek Yogurt.
Dr. Lee’s dissertation looked at changes in Asian international students’ eating habits since coming to the U.S., reasons for the changes, and how they perceive the U.S. food environment. She also examined how much they are interested in factors related to the food system (i.e. ethical and environmental concerns). Dr. Lee is continuing her pursuit of helping people eat healthier by studying to become a registered dietitian this coming fall. Dr. Lee recently worked on a literature review project for FoodCorps in which she researched the social and behavioral factors in regards to the school cafeteria. Her specialty is in constructing programs that teach others in their local community how to make better food choices for their health.
Dr. Tate’s dissertation researched the effects of diet quality on cognition in middle school “aged” youth. This work that served as an extension of Dr. Tate’s graduate studies in neuroscience, nutrition, dietetics and public health. Dr. Tate’s specific research interests are examining: (1) the neural correlates of obesity and (2) the neuromodular effects of food. As a postdoctoral research fellow, Dr. Tate works on experimental design and development toward implementing randomized controlled trial protocols aimed at examining health outcomes following dietary and surgical intervention. Dr. Tate’s work as a dietitian in the private sector includes evidence based practice with an emphasis on nutrition counseling, high accountability, and individualized nutrition planning.