Join us for a one-hour webinar where panelists will share key insights from their latest research on Food As Medicine. We’ll explore the communities most likely to benefit and focus on how to translate these research findings into practical, everyday applications. Our discussion will cover the creation of systems that integrate Food As Medicine knowledge into ongoing care, whether through healthcare providers, clinics, or community-based organizations.

Elizabeth Polinard is the Ascension Texas Nursing Professional Development Practitioner for Perinatal Services, and is a clinical affiliate faculty member at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. In these roles, she conducts research and develops clinical education for both new and experienced nurses as well as other healthcare providers. Additionally, as the co-founder and program supervisor of the Food is the Best Medicine program and the co-founder and chair of the Ascension Texas Council on Racial and Health Equity, Elizabeth is committed to creating a world in which health disparities no longer exist.

Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. As Principal Investigator and Director of the Nutrition Initiatives & Community Health Equity lab, Dr. Hollis-Hansen’s work aims to develop effective food retail interventions for areas with limited access to food and identify the impact of food is medicine programs developed with and for people that use food pantries and safety-net health clinics.

Dr Shreela Sharma is Professor & Vice Chair of Epidemiology and Director, Center for Health Equity at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, TX. Dr. Sharma is a behavioral epidemiologist with specific interest in food insecurity, nutritional epidemiology, health equity, health disparities, and diet-related chronic diseases in children, families and vulnerable populations and has a robust, federally-funded research program in this area.

Dr. van den Berg is a professor in Behavioral Science and Health Promotion at the UTHealth School of Public Health in Austin. She is also the Associate Director of the Michael& Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living. Over the past 25 years, Dr. van den Berg has built a research program focused on health disparities related to limited access to healthful foods. More specifically, her research focuses on the development and evaluation of environmental and policy strategies targeting different aspects of food systems to create sustainable changes that impact individuals’ dietary patterns. Recent research studies focus on Food Is Medicine, school gardens, and food insecurity. Most recently, this research has evolved to focus on sustainable food systems, climate change and future food security.

Joi Chevalier combines her technology background with culinary arts as Founder & CEO of The Cook’s Nook. Our mission at The Cook’s Nook is to be the leading developer and distributor of fresh, nutritious and culturally relevant meals to address food insecurity and chronic disease. To do this, Joi designs programs that lead to improved health and economic outcomes by providing vulnerable populations access to quality nutrition with dignity and choice. Joi speaks regularly on ‘Food As Medicine’ including health equity in black, brown, and rural communities which is supported by Healthcare Program Sectors – Academic FIM studies, Hospital Systems, Benefit Providers and Payers.