Research Posters Presented as part of the 2026 Culinary Medicine Conference
The research posters below were presented at Health meets Food: the Culinary Medicine Conference in 2026.
Community-Based Culinary Medicine Program for Chronic Disease Prevention in an Underserved Population
Corresponding author/presenter: Akshra Verma MD, MS, CPE, FACP, CCMS, ABOM Diplomat
Institution: Southern Illinois University, Springfield, IL
Email Address: averma@siumed.edu
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This project describes the development and implementation of a community-based culinary medicine program designed to address chronic disease risk in an underserved population. Monthly cooking classes were conducted at the Salvation Army and co-led by an Internal Medicine physician and a registered dietitian. Sessions combined brief physician-led education on the relationship between food choices and chronic diseases with hands-on cooking demonstrations emphasizing affordable, time-efficient, and healthy meal preparation. Resident physicians participated on a rotating basis, supporting learner education in culinary medicine, community engagement, and interprofessional collaboration. Attendance and participant interest in follow-up primary care and nutrition services were tracked through sign-in sheets. Ingredient costs ranged from $25–$50 per session for approximately 15–20 participants, demonstrating high value at low cost. Due to strong community engagement and sustainability, the program transitioned from grant funding to ongoing support by a Federally Qualified Health Center. This model demonstrates a scalable approach to culinary medicine education and community health promotion.
Culinary Medicine in Medical Education and Chronic Disease Prevention: An Evidence-Based Educational Framework
Corresponding author/presenter: Chelsea Lee
Institution: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Email: cl3389@pcom.edu
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Culinary medicine is an evidence-based educational framework that integrates nutrition science with hands-on cooking experiences to improve physician and medical student competency in chronic disease prevention. Research demonstrates significant benefits for both medical trainees and patients. A large multi-site cohort study of over 4,000 students across 45 U.S. medical schools showed improved preventive cardiology competencies (OR 2.14) and healthier personal dietary habits up to five years after training. Randomized trials indicate culinary medicine is superior in improving confidence in nutrition counseling and clinical competency. Smaller studies suggest improvements in patient outcomes, including blood pressure and cholesterol control. Core curricular components include teaching kitchens, integration with medical science, practical application to patient care, and interprofessional learning. Although funding and curricular time remain barriers, virtual formats have proven feasible. Overall, culinary medicine offers a scalable strategy to strengthen nutrition education and support chronic disease prevention.
Bringing the Kitchen into the Classroom: Integrating Culinary Medicine into Doctoral Nurse Practitioner Education
Corresponding author/presenter: Dana Burns, DNP, FNP-BC, BC-ADM, CCMS, FNAP
Institution: Virginia Commonwealth University
Email: dburns@vcu.edu
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This feasibility project examined integration of culinary medicine into a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) curriculum without increasing credit hours or modifying course objectives. Culinary medicine content was embedded into required coursework for one Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) cohort (n=29) and one Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) cohort (n=9). FNP students participated in two voluntary post-didactic hands-on culinary skills sessions (Session 1 n=26; Session 2 n=22), with survey response rates of 17 and 10, respectively. The PMHNP cohort participated in one session (n=9; survey response n=9). Post-session surveys and semi-structured interviews assessed acceptability, perceived competence, and clinical relevance. Students reported increased confidence translating dietary guidance into practical meal strategies and immediate applicability in clinical rotations. Faculty interviews confirmed competency alignment, seamless integration, and sustainability within existing course structures. Findings support culinary medicine as a feasible, scalable strategy to strengthen nutrition-focused chronic disease management preparation in DNP education.
A Proposed Culinary Medicine Education to Strengthen Medical Nutrition Therapy for Improve Health Outcomes in Cirrhosis
Corresponding author/presenter: Daniella Hernandez BS
Institution: Texas Christian University
Email: d.c.hernandez@tcu.edu
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Patients with cirrhosis may experience malnutrition and sarcopenia, contributing to increased hospitalization, complications, and mortality. Although medical nutrition therapy (MNT) provides clear recommendations, including adequate energy and protein intake, sodium restriction, and avoidance of prolonged fasting. Patients often struggle to translate these guidelines into sustainable daily eating behaviors. To address this gap, this case-informed project proposes a culinary medicine framework designed to translate clinical nutrition recommendations into practical food skills. The model focuses on three evidence-based targets: structured meal timing to support alcohol cessation, flavor-forward sodium techniques using herbs and spices, and intentional protein distribution to reduce catabolic stress. Culinary strategies emphasize meal planning, flavor-building techniques, and realistic food preparation approaches aligned with cirrhosis nutrition guidelines. This framework demonstrates how integrating clinical nutrition with culinary skills may help patients apply nutrition recommendations through everyday meals and represents a feasible approach for incorporating culinary medicine into chronic disease management.
Studying Nutrition Attitudes and Choices in Kids: Evaluating the SNACK Lab community partnership
Corresponding author/presenter: Emma E. Saving
Institution: UT Southwestern Medical Center
Email: emma.saving@utsouthwestern.edu
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Snack Lab is a partnership between UTSW, Grocery Connect, and a local recreation center in South Dallas to provide a free after-school healthy snack intervention for children. UTSW and Grocery Connect are currently conducting a program evaluation, assessing children’s attitudes and behaviors towards healthy snacks. On average over five weeks of data collection, 26 children received the healthy snack intervention per week and consumed about three-fourths of the healthy snack components, with a preference for consuming fruit over vegetables for fresh produce components. Children generally enjoyed the snacks, with nearly all participants either enjoying the snack or feeling neutral about it. Moving forward, as this data collection continues and Snack Lab expands to another site, the Snack Lab team will continue evolving the intervention and consider ways to promote positive attitudes and behaviors about snacks and consider ways to promote eating vegetables and facilitating positive peer interactions about healthy snacks.
Educational Intervention on Resident Knowledge and Counseling Confidence on the Mediterranean Diet for Neurocognitive Health and Dementia Prevention
Corresponding author/presenter: Jacquelin Kwentus BS
Institution: Tulane University School of Medicine
Email: jkwentus@tulane.edu
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Nutrition education is often underrepresented in medical training, leaving many residents with limited confidence in providing effective dietary counseling. The Mediterranean diet has demonstrated significant benefits for cardiovascular health and is increasingly recognized as a powerful strategy for slowing age-related cognitive decline and reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite these well-established benefits, structured dietary counseling is not routinely integrated into neurologic care. This gap represents a missed opportunity for early, low-cost preventive intervention in at-risk populations. This project aimed to evaluate whether a culinary medicine–based educational intervention could improve residents’ knowledge of Mediterranean diet principles and increase confidence in counseling patients on nutrition for neurocognitive health and dementia prevention. By strengthening nutrition education during residency training, this initiative seeks to enhance preventive care practices and promote long-term brain health outcomes.
Culinary Medicine for MS4s: Cooking, Confidence, Counseling, and Nutrition Knowledge
Corresponding author/presenter: Jason Tsoi, MD MPH
Institution: Keck School of Medicine of USC
Email: jasontso@usc.edu
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We evaluated the impact of a two-week Culinary Medicine Elective on fourth-year medical students’ attitudes, nutrition knowledge, and ability to apply evidence-based nutrition in clinical practice. This pre–post survey study utilized a hybrid curriculum integrating hands-on culinary training alongside a Chef at the LA General Teaching Kitchen, online Health meets Food modules, Dietitian didactic sessions on nutrition fundamentals and dietary counseling, community-based learning experiences, and a standardized patient encounter.
Students completed the validated Health meets Food pre- and post-course survey assessing attitudes toward nutrition counseling, nutrition-related knowledge, and self-reported clinical application skills. Comparisons were analyzed using the paired t-test. Results demonstrated statistically significant improvements across all three domains (p < 0.05, n=13 students) indicating participation in the Elective meaningfully enhanced students’ preparedness to incorporate nutrition into patient care. These findings support culinary medicine as an effective educational approach to address persistent gaps in nutrition training within graduate medical education.
SAFFRON: South Asian Food For Robust, Optimal Nutrition A Culturally Tailored Digital Tool for South Asian Dietary Transitions
Corresponding author/presenter: Meenakshi Subha Vipin
Institution: UT Southwestern Medical School
Email: meenakshisubhavipin@gmail.com
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SAFFRON (South Asian Foods for Robust Optimal Nutrition) is a culturally tailored, web-based nutrition platform designed to help South Asian communities improve dietary habits without sacrificing culture. The platform provides healthy South Asian recipes with detailed nutritional information, allowing users to make informed choices that align with cardiometabolic health goals. Key features include a customizable “Build a Meal” tool that generates nutrient breakdown graphics based on dietary guidelines, a recipe dashboard with filter options for nutrients such as sugar, fiber, calories, and fat, and a metabolic snapshot for each recipe to highlight health impact. SAFFRON also includes a dietary news section with credible resources and a community forum to encourage discussion and shared learning. Overall, SAFFRON empowers users to personalize their nutrition, increase dietary adherence, and maintain culture while working toward better long-term cardiometabolic outcomes.
Culinary Foundations for Health: Early Findings From a Novel Apartment-Based Program
Corresponding author/presenter: Mohit Gupta, BS
Institution: UT Southwestern
Email: Mohit.gupta@utsouthwestern.edu
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This study evaluates a partnership between an academic culinary medicine program and a local real estate firm to provide onsite health education at a mixed-income property in Dallas. Led by “live-in” medical student trainees, the eight-month pilot assessed interest and engagement in monthly culinary medicine and nutrition education events among approximately 500 residents.
Findings indicate strong engagement, with 150 total attendees and 100% of surveyed residents expressing interest in future programming. While scheduling conflicts were the primary barrier to participation, residents identified grocery gift cards and free food as the most effective motivators. Participants preferred 45-minute weekday evening sessions focused on quick, budget-friendly, and nutritious meals.
The study demonstrates that apartment-based, trainee-led initiatives are a feasible and effective model for community health outreach. By leveraging residential infrastructure, healthcare trainees can transform mixed-income housing into non-traditional hubs for preventative medicine, provided logistical barriers are addressed and tangible incentives are utilized.
Shared Medical Appointments in Culinary Medicine: Three Recipes to Transform Care Delivery
Corresponding author/presenter: Nisha Mailapur
Institution: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Email: nisha.s.mailapur@gmail.com
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This article on culinary medicine shared medical appointments (SMAs) comprehensively describes an innovative care delivery approach to culinary medicine. Culinary medicine SMAs leverage a group model alternative to office visits to provide both the necessary time, interprofessional collaboration, and social support to counseling on chronic disease treatment and prevention. As rates of chronic disease and healthcare costs rise in the U.S., along with burnout in medicine, there is increasing demand for delivering culinary medicine while equipping patients with practical skills and support necessary for a sustainable, positive change in their health. We present culinary medicine SMAs as a reproducible framework, achieved by highlighting expert insights from three board-certified physicians implementing culinary medicine SMAs across varied practice settings: an academic-affiliated, community-based setting, a private multispecialty group, and an integrated health system. Through detailing key program implementation tools and lessons learned, this article serves as a toolkit for future healthcare teams.
Food Environment Strategies to Support Health and Fitness: A Military Perspective
Corresponding author/presenter: Katie M. Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, CSSD
Institution: Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. in support of the Center for Advanced Research in Military Optimization, Readiness, and Rehabilitation (ARMORR), Uniformed Services University
Email: Katie.kirkpatrick.ctr@usuhs.edu
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Food is a key component to support mental and physical health for military service members. Food venue operators and leaders can implement food environment strategies to optimize the availability, accessibility, and awareness of nutritious foods where military community members live, work, and train. Evidence-informed food environment strategies include: policy (e.g., standards), training (e.g., programmatic, culinary), menu (e.g., foods and drinks offered), food promotion (e.g., highlighting nutritious choices), choice architecture (e.g., making the nutritious choice the easy choice), and marketing and education (e.g., inform and educate customers). Commonly reported barriers and facilitators, such as, leadership and stakeholder support, resource availability, and organizational priorities should be reviewed and addressed. Customizing strategies to meet their unique food venue needs can maximize the potential of intervention success. Community-level strategies that highlight nutritious choices are essential when building a supportive food environment where food is nourishment for the body and mind.
Improving Food Allergy Knowledge in Middle School Students: Results from a College Student-Led Cooking and STEM Summer Program
Corresponding author/presenter: Sebastian Sanchez Reinoso
Institution: Tulane University School of Medicine
Email: ssanchezreinoso@tulane.edu
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This study evaluates early outcomes on teaching efficacy from Tulane University’s Culinary Medicine Initiative (CMI), a student-led organization providing free cooking and STEM education to local New Orleans youth. During summer and fall 2025, CMI reached 72 elementary and middle school students across four community sessions and is on track to serve approximately 140 students during the 2025-2026 academic year. Given that food allergies affect nearly 8% of children and that youth knowledge data remain limited, this study assessed changes in allergen understanding and confidence. Participants completed pre- and post-class assessments, including a 6-item allergen knowledge quiz, Top 9 allergen identification, and a self-reported confidence measure. Significant improvements were observed in overall allergen knowledge (3.51 to 4.68), allergen identification (1.42 to 5.19), and enjoyment in cooking and consuming healthy foods. Findings support the impact and scalability of student-led culinary medicine programming to advance community health and safety.
Culinary Medicine Outreach at Local High School
Corresponding author/presenter: Shrishti Bhattarai D.O. (PGY-3)
Institution: Family Health Centers of San Diego
Email: Bshrishti57@gmail.com
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This educational endeavor describes a culinary medicine outreach program implemented at Hoover High School, an urban, economically disadvantaged, and racially diverse high school in San Diego. A four-class, evidence-based culinary medicine series was integrated into an existing culinary medicine curriculum to explore students’ understanding of food and health, identify barriers to dietary change, and build practical skills through hands-on activities. Students reported high engagement and perceived value, particularly appreciating the interactive format and representation among facilitators. Due to logistical limitations, formal pre- and post-intervention surveys were not conducted with students. To assess educational impact, a modified nutrition session focused on protein intake was delivered to family medicine residents, demonstrating improved confidence in nutrition counseling. These findings suggest that consistent, interactive culinary medicine education can support nutrition engagement among high school students and enhance resident counseling skills, with potential for expansion within residency-based lifestyle medicine training. Following the initial four sessions last year, this outreach program has been expanded into ongoing residency-led community engagement and will continue this year.
Familiar Flavors: Culturally Tailored Culinary Medicine One-Pagers to Advance Inclusive Nutrition Counseling
Corresponding author/presenter: Sonia A. Tripathy
Institution: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, Fort Worth, Texas
Email: sonia.tripathy@tcu.edu
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Familiar Flavors is an educational initiative designed to advance cultural inclusivity in culinary medicine. Recognizing that many evidence-based dietary recommendations are presented through a predominantly Eurocentric lens, we developed four culturally tailored one-page nutrition counseling tools centered on American comfort foods/Barbecue, Latin American/Tex-Mex, South Asian, and East Asian cuisines. Each pamphlet integrates evidence-based dietary principles with culturally relevant ingredients, cooking methods and spices, and staple dishes to preserve food identity while promoting health-conscious modifications. The materials were created for use by medical students in culinary medicine programming and clinical settings to enhance personalized counseling. Students were encouraged to incorporate cultural preferences when making dietary recommendations and to use these tools as practical conversation aids. Implementation and evaluation are planned for 2026, including structured post-participation student reflections assessing knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in culturally tailored counseling. This framework offers a scalable model for integrating culturally responsive nutrition education into medical training.
Sharp Teaching Kitchen Overcomes the Obstacles to Eating Well at Work
Corresponding author/presenter: Tess Thompson, MSN, RN, PHN, CCRN
Institution: Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, Purdue Global University
Email: tess.c.thompson@gmail.com
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This was an evidenced-based practice pilot program at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in the Fall of 2025. The “Eating Well at Work” curriculum included five, 90-minute classes streamed synchronously from a virtual teaching kitchen. The content developed addressed the personal, professional and organizational barriers to healthy eating specific to nurses working in hospitals. Using Microsoft Teams and a flipped classroom approach, participants reviewed narrated PowerPoint slides covering core nutrition concepts before each virtual session. Supplied with recipes and complementing shopping lists, participating nurses obtained ingredients and collected needed equipment before class to follow along and cook from their home kitchens. With guidance from the culinary nurse educator, participants prepared two recipes in each class, after which time was allotted for eating together and discussion.
