Nova Southeastern University Medical Schools
Leadership and Faculty
Stephanie N. Petrosky, D.C.N., M.H.A., RDN, LDN, FAND
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition
Program Director, Master of Science in Nutrition
Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
Stephanie Petrosky is an Associate Professor and the founding Chair of the Department of Nutrition in the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. In this role, she leads the operational aspects of the department, including faculty, academic programs, college roles, outpatient clinical practice, accreditation, and teaching other health professions about the power of nutrition. Dr. Petrosky developed a new required course for osteopathic medical students called the Basics of Nutrition. She also teaches as a faculty mentor in the M1 Research Practicum. She contributes her service time to a patient clinical practice with NSU Health and mentors research projects with students in various health professions. One of her current passions is interprofessional practice with nutrition.
Dr. Petrosky is responsible for bringing the culinary medicine program, Health meets Food, to NSU Florida in 2019 through small projects and student-interest groups. Various components of the curriculum have been used for wellness sessions, medical student club events, and interactive first-year experience workshops in nutrition.
Dr. Petrosky is a licensed, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with over 30 years in practice. She earned a Bachelor of Science with honors in Nutrition and Dietetics from Florida International University, a Master of Science in Health Administration from Capella University, and an Advanced Practice Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition from the University of North Florida. Her career spans many operational roles in food service operations, health administration, and business development. Her teaching experience spans precepting and adjunct faculty positions at Florida International, Broward College, and Keiser University. As a former state president, she is recognized as a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Currently, she is the Chair of the Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council for the State of Florida Department of Health, managing the state licensure process for nutrition professionals.
Joshua Costin, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Medical Education
Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU-MD)
Joshua Matthew Costin, Ph.D., completed his Bachelor of Science at Florida State University with degrees in Biology and Psychology and a minor in Chemistry before earning a doctorate in Microbiology & Immunology at Tulane University in the laboratory of Dr. Robert F. Garry. He has published research on HIV and flaviviruses. Dr. Costin’s current research efforts have been focused on the microbiome and nutrition, as well as pedagogical research in teaching Microbiology through different modalities.
Dr. Costin, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Education and the Block Director over the Gastrointestinal, Nutrition, Endocrine, and Reproductive courses for NSU-MD school. He directs the Medical Microbiology course in the School of Optometry, the M4 elective in Medical Nutrition for NSU MD, and the Food meets Medicine course for the Master’s in Biomedical Sciences. He also supports the Research Practicum course for the College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM) with medical students. He is a beloved research mentor for students in the graduate nutrition program.
Dr. Costin’s dynamic career began in academia; he has authored ten peer-reviewed publications, presented research data at dozens of national and international conferences, was an invited chair for the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH), and was awarded two research patents as an inventor. He left academia to pursue a career as a forensic biologist with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Dr. Costin also headed the biology section of a nutraceutical startup, with broad responsibilities from identifying new potential products to their validation using in vitro assays to clinical testing via contract research organizations (CROs). He is listed as an inventor on eight patents, two of which have been converted. Dr. Costin continues to consult in the field of nutraceutical development as well as viral testing (specifically SARS-CoV2).
Marilyn Gordon, Ed.D., RDN, CSSD, LDN
Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition
Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
Marilyn is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Her interest in nutrition grew out of vegetarianism and fitness. Early in clinical practice, she realized the power of food and lifestyle for optimal health. After graduate work in exercise science and wellness, she began teaching nutrition and wellness courses. She completed her doctoral studies in educational leadership at Florida International University. She recently used her lifelong interest to develop a course on plant-based eating patterns. Dr. Gordon is the team nutritionist for the athletics department and teaches yoga and spin classes at the university’s recreation center, which is a great way to get to know students. She loves exploring the topics of Ayurveda, functional nutrition, and nutrigenomics as additional tools to enhance health.
Melinda Luis, M.S., RDN, LDN
Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition
Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
Melinda earned her M.S. in Dietetics and Nutrition from Florida International University and is currently working on her Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition from the University of North Florida. Her early career involved clinical practice in hospitals and extended care settings. Her graduate work emphasized eating and cognitive challenges in older adults. She enjoys exploring the nutritional patterns of culturally diverse populations worldwide and created a unique course at NSU on world culture, food, and nutrition. Her teaching experience ranges from cooking and nutrition skills classes for children to extensive work in higher education. For fun, Melinda enjoys family time, relaxing at the beach, and scrapbooking.
Medical and Health Professions Students:
Various aspects of culinary medicine started in 2019 at NSU Florida through an innovative collaboration of faculty leaders from the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, members of the Health Professional Division at Nova Southeastern University. Growing interest from students continues to generate new programming and expanded options to access the Health meets Food programming.
Allopathic medicine students have the option to take a 2-week elective course in culinary medicine in their 4th year. This virtual course has synchronous meetings and interactive learning groups as they work through the required modules addressing chronic disease. Graduate students in the Master of Biomedical Sciences may also take an elective course in culinary nutrition similarly.
Osteopathic medical students take a personal wellness course in the first-year curriculum. Lessons from Health meets Food program have been presented in small-group workshops using the modules. An elective course for osteopathic medical students is currently under development.
NSU is building a state-of-art interprofessional simulation complex to open in the Fall of 2024. The design includes a teaching kitchen and culinary theater to house the future plans for growing the culinary medicine program.
Residency Training:
No programming at this time.
Fellowship Training:
None are offered at this time.
Community Programming:
None are offered at this time.
Presentations:
Costin, J. and Petrosky, SN. “The Physician in the Kitchen” at the 2022 Annual Conference of the Human-Anatomy and Physiology Society in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. https://www.hapsweb.org/page/2022ACHealthSafety
The objectives of this joint presentation were to 1. Define culinary medicine; 2. Explain the efficacy of using culinary medicine in medical school, and 3. Identify a strategy to implement culinary medicine in new applications.
Publications:
https://www.jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(20)31057-1/fulltext
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36579282/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9825116/
https://www.cureus.com/articles/107175-a-systematic-review-of-nutritional-interventions-on-key-cytokine-pathways-in-rheumatoid-arthritis-and-its-implications-for-comorbid-depression-is-a-more-comprehensive-approach-required
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35573543/
https://www.cureus.com/articles/111986-sociodemographic-correlates-of-food-insecurity-in-students-attending-a-private-university-a-cross-sectional-descriptive-study/metrics
