Leadership and Faculty
Andrew Vaughan, MD, MBA
Dr. Vaughan has more than 35 years of experience in cardiology care, specializing in non-invasive, preventive and general cardiology. Vaughan’s practice also places a special emphasis on nutrition as it relates to heart disease and heart health, and he is a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist.
Amy Gannon, MS, RD, LD
Amy Gannon is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Dietetics Program at Marshall University. She completed her undergraduate degree in Human Nutrition and Foods at West Virginia University and her dietetic internship and master’s degree in Dietetics at Marshall University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction, also at Marshall. Before her career as an educator, she worked in community nutrition and in nutrition education. She also worked in both outpatient and inpatient clinical care. Her primary interests are in childhood obesity, nutrition education, and nutrition throughout the lifespan. She has conducted research on the impact of nutrition education in elementary and preschools and in early childcare settings. She also serves as an outpatient dietitian for HealthyKids Weight Management Clinic in Charleston, WV, specializing in the treatment of childhood and adolescent obesity and co-morbid conditions.
Kelli J Williams, PhD, RD, LD
Chair of Dietetics
Kelli J. Williams, PhD, RD, LD, is Department Chair and Professor of Dietetics at Marshall University. She received her doctorate degree from The Ohio State University and has worked in various settings as a dietitian. Her primary interests are in health promotion/disease prevention and obesity. She has conducted research on food availability for rural elderly, perceptions of healthy diet and weight among Appalachian adolescents, and the impact of nutrition education in schools. Currently, Dr. Williams is involved with Marshall’s Nutrition Education Program and serves as the grant’s principal investigator.
Culinary Medicine Programming
Dietetic Programming
There are 3 modules so far with graduate dietetics students and they are working on teaching students to work with physicians.
Medical Student Programming
Dr. Vaughn aims to work with 4th year medical students virtually in the spring by crafting an elective they can do 5 days/week and ideally work through 3-4 modules.
Residency Programming
No programming at this time.
Fellowship Programming
No programming at this time.
Community Programming
No programming at this time.
Successes
Participating students found the Culinary Medicine elective to be a valuable part of their medical education. The combination of cooking and didactic sessions allowed students to deepen their own fundamental understanding of food and nutrition while providing a creative opportunity for the development of practical skills.
Dietetic interns have created their own video for each of the module. This has been used to create a private social media channel that provides further education on topics, such as inflammation, fats, and DASH. Students come up with their own PowerPoint and their own recipes! They presented their work to the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior and are currently working on a manuscript.
Challenges
It is difficult to determine the logistics of incorporating the culinary medicine curriculum into coursework.
Funding
The Dean is providing some funding and they are currently working on splitting funding between the School of Medicine and Dietetics School.
