Who we are

I have been fortunate to be at the forefront of a quiet revolution within medicine: to change the course of chronic, often deleterious diseases through food and nutrition. My favorite accomplishments have integrated my nutrition research into clinical practice and education that provides foundations for our future.  I have seen people truly heal through modification of dietary patterns that preserve culture, tradition, family and community.  We celebrate and grieve with food; we live to eat and eat to live.  Culinary Medicine is the way of the future, when physicians will write as many prescriptions for healthy and tasty dietary patterns as we do for now for medication.

Karla specializes in nutrition and physical activity data collection utilizing NDSR and other databases. She has been working with the Behavioral Medicine Division since 2004. Karla is also bilingual in Spanish, a skill she developed working for the Massachusetts WIC Program.

Rene is a Culinary Nutrition Expert (CNE) with her Master of Science in Nutrition.  She has developed many of the recipes posted on our Instagram and Facebook pages based on the IBD-AID^TM. A passion for making healthy, nutritious, and delicious food, Rene loves helping individuals make sustainable behavior changes through one-on-one cooking classes and discussions around healthy food choices. In her free time, she likes to grow vegetables and flowers in her garden, practice yoga, and play the drums.

Ana is a clinical translational researcher intersted in understanding the interaction of diet, the microbiota, and disease. Our bodies are home of trillion of bacteria, namely the microbiota. The microbiota provides tremendously benefits, from protecting us for malicious bacteria (pathogens) to help in training our immune system so it can respond properly. An unbalanced microbiota is associated with diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease. Ana's lab investigates how manipulation of the microbiota through diet can benefit patient outcomes, particularly those suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases.

Camilla is a Registered Dietitian in the Population and Quantitative Health Sciences Department at UMass Chan Medical School. Her interests include the gut microbiome, inflammatory bowel disease, and diet for chronic disease prevention.

Missy is a telephone counselor for the Umass IBD-AID program and brings her own story to enrich her experience.  Through hard work, dedication, and a change in lifestyle, Missy was able to intentionally lose over 70 pounds and remission from UC, while obtaining a degree in exercise science. There is nothing Missy enjoys more than having the opportunity to be part of someone’s support system as they make lifestyle changes through diet, exercise, or both! Missy can be contacted directly @ mjhall039@gmail.com.

Annie is our medication consultant. As a pharmacist, Annie is interested in natural medications as part of integrative medicine therapy.

Victoria works in cardiovascular and diabetes outpatient counseling and specializes in the nutritional treatment of disease. Gestational diabetes is a specialty.