, associate professor at the (COPH), received the Mid-Career Professional Achievement Award from the Nutrition Education and Behavioral Science (NEBS) Research Interest Section of the American Society for Nutrition (ASN), recognizing her contributions to research, teaching, mentorship and leadership in the field.
According to the ASN, the annual award is presented to one investigator with 10 to 19 years of post-terminal degree experience who has demonstrated outstanding research and contributions to nutrition education and behavior change. Recipients must also demonstrate excellence in teaching and mentorship as well as leadership through service within their university and the broader field.
Gray was selected from nominees evaluated by a confidential jury based on the award criteria. The NEBS Research Interest Section includes more than 1,500 students and early-, mid- and senior-career members.
鈥淎t this mid-career stage, receiving this award means a great deal to me because my efforts over the past decade or so as a researcher, mentor and contributor to the NEBS topic areas have been recognized by fellow researchers and members of this large international nutrition community,鈥 Gray said.
Dr. Heewon Gray (second from right) receiving her Mid-Career Professional Achievement Award from the Nutrition Education and Behavioral Science Research Interest Section of the American Society for Nutrition. (Photo courtesy of Gray)
Over the past 15 years, Gray鈥檚 research has centered on helping people develop healthier eating behaviors, with a particular focus on nutrition interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and community-based nutrition programs.
Her interest in the field grew from an early background in nutritional biochemistry. While pursuing her master鈥檚 degree, Gray initially planned to continue on a similar path but found herself increasingly drawn to the role nutrition education can play in disease prevention.
鈥淚 became more interested in disease prevention through nutrition education and community-engaged interventions, which led me to shift my focus to nutrition education and behavioral nutrition,鈥 Gray said.
She went on to earn her PhD in behavioral nutrition, beginning with school-based nutrition interventions during her doctoral training before expanding her focus to food systems and policy changes in community settings as a postdoctoral researcher.
At USF, Gray began developing research focused on children with ASD through needs assessments and pilot studies supported by university and COPH funding. Those early studies helped her secure funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a pilot randomized controlled trial of a nutrition intervention for children with ASD, which was completed in 2025.
She has also expanded her work into community-based nutrition interventions, using preliminary findings from a community food assessment to develop a pilot randomized controlled trial supported by the NIH.
Beyond research, the award recognizes Gray鈥檚 contributions to teaching, mentorship and professional leadership. She mentors students and postdoctoral trainees and serves in several leadership roles at USF and within national nutrition organizations.
At USF, Gray serves as concentration lead for the , co-chair of the holistic human health working group within the USF Future of Food Think Tank and faculty lead for the in the .
Nationally, she serves as president-elect of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior and holds additional editorial and committee roles within the organization and the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
For Gray, the recognition represents more than any one project or accomplishment.
鈥淪ince this was a mid-career award, I believe that the review considered the overall trajectory of the career development and accomplishments over time,鈥 she said.
Looking ahead, Gray plans to continue expanding her nutrition intervention research through larger clinical trials while mentoring students and junior faculty. She is particularly interested in pursuing funding for an efficacy trial that would build on her recently completed pilot nutrition intervention for toddlers with ASD.
鈥淢y goal is to scale up my nutrition intervention projects using large clinical trials,鈥 Gray said. 鈥淯ltimately, I hope to influence policy changes in early intervention programs to reinforce nutrition assessment and recommend early nutrition intervention programs to address common mealtime and eating behavior challenges in children with ASD.鈥