Culinary Medicine Program at UT Southwestern - Moncrief Cancer Institute
Moncrief Cancer Institute
Program Overview
Moncrief Cancer Institute, an affiliate of UT Southwestern Medical Center, delivers Culinary Medicine programming as part of its Cancer Survivorship services. Spearheaded by Milette Siler, MBA-HC, RDN, LD, CCMS, the program blends clinical nutrition, culinary skill-building, and psychosocial support to serve cancer survivors and the broader community. It utilizes modules from the Health meets Food curriculum alongside custom content tailored to symptom management and patient empowerment.
Moncrief holds the distinction of being the first-ever licensee of the Health meets Food curriculum, pioneering its use in a community-based setting focused on oncology care. Their longstanding engagement has helped shape how Culinary Medicine is integrated into survivorship support.
The program includes:
- Community Culinary Medicine Classes: Held monthly at Moncrief, these sessions are open to anyone with a cancer diagnosis. Classes blend Mediterranean diet-based content (via ACCM modules) with sessions addressing cancer-related fatigue, taste changes, and other treatment-related concerns.
- Survivorship Series: A six-week series co-facilitated by Moncrief’s dietetic interns and staff, focusing on culinary confidence and nutrition education for cancer survivors.
In addition to patient-focused offerings, Moncrief plays a critical role in training dietetic interns and supports broader system efforts and research initiatives. It serves as a model for how community-based cancer care can incorporate culinary medicine to improve quality of life, nutritional literacy, and symptom management.
Faculty Leadership
- Milette Siler, MBA-HC, RDN, LD, CCMS – Culinary Medicine Program Lead and Instructor
- Abigail Knowles, MCN, RD, LD – Clinical Dietitian and Co-Facilitator (CCMS candidate, 2025)
Spotlight & Media
- Patient Story: A stage IV colon cancer survivor credited the Culinary Medicine program with helping her regain control in her healing process. After throwing out all her cookware and pantry contents, she attended class at Moncrief, made the ACCM spaghetti recipe, and began cooking again for her teenage sons. She lived to see them both graduate — one even from college — and called her experience “empowering.”
- Community Engagement: Local churches have become strong program partners, with SMAs hosted on-site and kitchen upgrades funded through grants.
- Videos:
Research & Publications
- Effects of a Culinary Medicine Class on Cancer-Related Fatigue Management (Poster presented at Health meets Food 2025 Conference) (Poster included for linking)
- Moncrief’s programming also contributes to broader UTSW publications on Culinary Medicine in cancer care, food security interventions, and virtual recruitment for lifestyle medicine trials
