Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Role of Nutrition Gains Importance in Medical Education
Education News

Role of Nutrition Gains Importance in Medical Education

By Sarah PlumridgeJan 14, 2014
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, associate dean for Faculty Development and professor in Preventive Medicine, has worked to incorporate a theme of prevention and nutrition in the medical school curriculum.

As scientists learn more about the role of diet in causing and preventing diseases, nutrition education has become increasingly important in medical education at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

“We are an evidence-based education program here,” said Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, associate dean for Faculty Development and professor in Preventive Medicine. “We teach what has been documented in medical literature, and over the last 10-15 years there have been many studies that report that diet is a major contributor to health and to the prevention and treatment of disease. That rise in importance is reflected in the curriculum at the medical school.”

Nutrition has played an important role in the Department of Preventive Medicine. Its founder and former chair, Jeremiah Stamler, MD, an expert in cardiovascular epidemiology, recognized early on the importance of diet in the development of cardiovascular disease. During his tenure, Dr. Stamler documented the important role diet played in the development of risk factors associated with heart disease, such as hypertension, high blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity.

During Dr. Stamler’s chairmanship at the medical school, he started the Master of Public Health program and added nutrition electives to the curriculum. Those electives were a success, with more than 100 students attending.

In 1998, the department received the Nutrition Academic Award, a five year grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to help support the development and integration of nutrition within the medical school curriculum. Feinberg was one of 21 schools to receive the grant. With the funding support, Van Horn and Robert Kushner, MD, professor in Medicine-Endocrinology, were able to incorporate a theme of prevention and nutrition in the medical school curriculum.

With the addition of the Area of Scholarly Concentration, a four-year research project that’s part of the new curriculum, medical students have the option of conducting research around nutrition and its effects on disease. Through participation in these projects, students learn how to access and analyze nutritional data and how to build nutrition into their future practices.

This fall, a group of interested medical students started a new student organization called NU-trition. The club has as its goal student enrichment and further exploration of the role of nutrition in medicine. Van Horn is their advisor.

“I am delighted that medical students find the topic of nutrition interesting. It reinforces our long-range hypothesis that if future physicians ascribe a sense of importance to diet and nutrition, then maybe we have the opportunity to see change,” said Van Horn.

Education Health and Lifestyle Public Health
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Research Day 2023 Celebrates Scientific Discoveries and Collaboration

Sep 15, 2023

Cella Named 2023 Tripartite Prize Recipient

Sep 5, 2023

Student Research Honors Late Mentor and Discovers New Blood Cancer Treatment 

Aug 30, 2023

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Feinberg Investigators Identify How a Residential Neighborhood Can Impact Health

Sep 22, 2023

Robert Lamb, Renowned Expert on Influenza Virus, Dies at 72

Sep 22, 2023

Bethany Ekesa, Associate Director of SPARC, Honored with Jean E. Shedd University Citizenship Award

Sep 21, 2023

Combination Immunotherapy Shows No Additional Benefit for Most Advanced Cancers

Sep 21, 2023

Novel Intracellular Signaling Mechanisms Promote Melanoma Growth

Sep 21, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20230914_NM461
20230914_NM644
20230914_NM345
20230914_NM444
20230914_NM464
20230914_NM520
20230914_NM673
20230914_NM641
20230914_NM612
20230914_NM608
20230914_NM602
20230914_NM597

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.