A patient has been diagnosed with diabetes. Another is managing high blood pressure. A parent is worried about childhood obesity. An older adult is struggling to maintain strength and independence.
In each case, food is one part of the story. For physicians and other health providers, knowing that nutrition matters is not enough. To make a difference, they must be able to translate evolving nutrition science into practical guidance that reflects a patient鈥檚 unique circumstances.
That challenge is why a decade ago, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine became one of the first universities in the nation to create a dedicated forum for students to explore nutrition research as part of their medical school training.
Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the scholarly concentration has become a staple of student-led inquiry at the college and an example of USF Health鈥檚 early leadership in a field increasingly aware of the critical role nutrition plays in preventing disease and achieving positive health outcomes.
Food is one of the most ordinary parts of daily life, but what a person chooses to eat can have a profound impact on their overall health and well-being. Poor nutrition is connected to a host of chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, as well as decreased athletic performance and behavioral health. Yet because dietary patterns are often tied to family history, income, access to healthy foods and the realities of daily life, recommendations that sound simple in the clinic may be difficult to follow at home.
To help physicians better understand this complexity, the Morsani College of Medicine launched the Nutrition Research and Health scholarly concentration in 2016, allowing students to engage more deeply with the subject through a combination of research, learning and practical application.
One of 11 tracks in the created to supplement the medical school鈥檚 core curriculum, the concentration highlights the science of nutrition, its role in preventing and managing disease and the ways food can be used to improve patient care.
Susan Pross, PhD
Participating students attend monthly sessions featuring faculty experts, guest speakers, student presentations and work-in-progress discussions. They also pursue specialized research projects on related topics such as obesity, metabolic disease, sports nutrition and endocrinology. Designed to be flexible, the concentration can be tailored to students鈥 interests under the guidance of faculty leaders, who provide individualized mentorship and support their scholarly development.
The concentration was popular from its earliest days. When it launched 10 years ago, nutrition was woven into portions of the medical school curriculum, but the concentration created a space for students who wanted to go further.
鈥淲hat began as a way to broaden nutrition education has become a meaningful part of how we help students think about the full range of factors that shape health,鈥 said Susan Pross, PhD, professor in the Morsani College of Medicine and a co-captain of the Scholarly Concentrations Program. 鈥淭he medical school curriculum at the time provided students with a basic understanding of nutrition and its place in health care, but the students wanted more. The scholarly concentration allows them to take a deeper look at nutrition and understand how it can be used alongside other aspects of modern health care.鈥
In the years since, the program has grown to approximately 70 students who learn from faculty mentors, researchers, clinicians and health professions across multiple disciplines. The concentration also complements broader nutrition education within the MD program, which has continued to expand its emphasis on preparing physicians to address diet-related disease.
Heewon Gray, PhD
, lead faculty mentor for the Nutrition Scholarly Concentration and associate professor in the USF College of Public Health, said the program鈥檚 strength lies in its multidisciplinary approach.
A nationally recognized leader and researcher in nutrition education, childhood obesity and lifestyle medicine, Dr. Gray works closely with students to help them understand nutrition as both a scientific field and a practical part of patient care. A key part of that effort is training learners to translate credible research into specific applications for patients and communities.
鈥淣utrition is a very broad topic. The research and practice in this field can鈥檛 be done in a silo,鈥 Dr. Gray said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for students to understand nutrition from a multidisciplinary perspective, so that when they go on to build care plans for their own patients, they stay up to date with and incorporate the latest diet and nutrition research.鈥
That approach brings together expertise from medicine, public health, dietetics, athletic training, behavioral health and community health 鈥 reinforcing the lesson that nutrition is one part of a larger approach to managing and preventing chronic disease.
Such an interdisciplinary approach has been well-received by students, whose enthusiasm for the concentration has been central to its continued growth and longevity.
Rosemaria Thomas, a second-year medical student and newly elected co-leader of the nutrition scholarly concentration, was drawn to the program through her background as a multisport athlete in high school and a broader interest in the relationship between nutrition and athletic performance.
During her first year in medical school, she said she began to see nutrition鈥檚 role beyond athletics and through the broader perspective of a future physician.
鈥淭he more I learned about this field, the more I realized how important nutrition is to community and global health,鈥 Thomas said. 鈥淚鈥檓 especially interested in learning more about how nutrition is shaped by culture and economics, and how that affects the way people make decisions about their health.鈥
As a student leader of the scholarly concentration, Thomas hopes to sponsor educational experiences that build on the interests of her classmates, include guest lectures from nutrition experts, cooking classes with culinary medicine specialists and sessions focused on how physicians can have more meaningful conversations with patients about food and health.
鈥淚鈥檓 very excited to help guide my classmates in this concentration and learn what they want to hear about the most,鈥 Thomas said. 鈥淣utrition has sometimes been overlooked in medicine, but knowing more about the underlying science can make a difference for our future patients."
Photos from the Culinary Medicine Lab, April 2026
