Nutrition

The longitudinal curricular nutrition thread is being designed to ensure that graduating MD students are able to demonstrate competency in a broad range of knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to the role of nutrition in health and disease.

The longitudinal thread format is best suited to this goal for the following reasons:

1. Nutrition-related concepts and competencies are best encountered in a fully integrated way. Therefore, students will not encounter nutrition simply in the context of a single time-constrained course, but rather as a recurring component of their study of a broad range of conditions and concepts.
2. Nutrition has broad applicability; as with other thread disciplines, it is relevant to a range of clinical and scientific disciplines.
3. It is important for students to encounter nutrition concepts and competencies frequently across all three phases of their training, and at increasing levels of complexity.

Thread-related learning objectives will be mapped to the MD Program Competencies, Milestones, and Educational Program Objectives (EPOs), and linked to multiple evidence-based sources including the Proposed Nutrition Competencies for Medical Students and Physician Trainees.

Using these objectives as a guide, we will enhance existing nutrition education and integrate new activities across all phases of the curriculum. Nutrition instruction and assessment will begin with foundational education on nutrients and metabolism, followed by exploration of how nutrition affects growth, development, health, and disease.

Students will examine the role of the physician in improving nutrition and will develop skills to influence change at the individual and population level.

Timeline

• June 25, 2025: Educational Policy and Curriculum Committee (EPCC) approved the development and implementation of a longitudinal curricular thread focusing specifically on nutrition.
• Fall 2025: Completed a needs assessment and curricular gap analysis to identify additional opportunities for nutrition instruction and assessment in the YSM MD curriculum.
• Spring 2026: Develop nutrition-specific learning objectives linked to the MD Competencies, Milestones, and EPOs, and develop new instructional and teaching strategies; recruit and train faculty.
• July 2026: Official launch of the MD program nutrition thread and concentration in nutrition.

The pedagogical approach within the nutrition thread will ensure that students can demonstrate competence related to thread objectives. Practical instruction in culinary medicine and study of the implications of food and nutrition on population health will deepen students’ appreciation of the role of physicians in promoting health and treating disease with dietary interventions.

Students will be able to pursue more focused experiences through additional concentrated experiences in nutrition and culinary medicine, scholarly work including the MD thesis, clinical electives in culinary medicine, student interest groups, and community engagement.

Future clinicians and physician scientists will incorporate a greater understanding of the role of human nutrition in their study and approach to human health and disease.

Partnership with the Yale New Haven Health Teaching Kitchen

The prevention and treatment of diet-related diseases necessitates both nutrition knowledge and culinary skills (food selection, grocery shopping, ingredient storage, meal planning, knife skills, cooking techniques, kitchen confidence, etc.).

The culinary medicine program at the YSM and Yale New Haven Health Teaching Kitchen provides patients with the evidence-based, hands-on training to master these necessary skills while simultaneously offering the ideal learning laboratory for medical students.

In the Yale New Haven Health Teaching Kitchen, medical students will:

• Learn how food and nutrition insecurity affects their patients and how culinary medicine can be leveraged to address these barriers
• Participate in research
• Shadow for classes focused on teaching resident and fellow physicians
• Volunteer for patient classes
• Participate in community outreach events

Our collaborations with registered dietitians, epidemiologists, Yale School of Public Health, chefs, farmers, and community organizations will ensure that the thread is multidisciplinary.

Evaluation and Competency-Based Assessment Plan

Assessment:

• Update existing competency-based assessments across the curriculum to integrate nutrition components.
• Introduce formative assessments focused on building skills in dietary counseling, nutrition education for patients, and a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between diet and disease.
• All assessments will be linked to the MD Program Competencies, Milestones, and EPOs, and will be mapped to national guidelines and standards.

Program Evaluation Strategy:

• Conduct annual focus groups and surveys aligned with curriculum objectives to track success of implementation
• Track formative and summative student assessment data to ensure students are all achieving competence
• Hold quarterly advisory group meetings focused on program implementation, evaluation and improvement
• Provide periodic updates to the EPCC[MJ1]

Related Links on Nutrition Education at YSM

• “Low-Cost, High-Nutrition Eating” Lecture Series for Medical Students (Article)
• Culinary Medicine Program Overview (Website)
• Culinary Medicine at Yale (Video)
• Culinary Medicine for Medical Trainees (Article)
• Food as Medicine (Article)
• Yale New Haven Health Teaching Kitchen (Website)

Selected Publications

1. Wood NI, Fussell M, Benghiat E, et al. A randomized controlled trial of a culinary medicine intervention in a virtual teaching kitchen for primary care residents. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2025;40(11):2668–2678.
2. Ndumele CD, Factor H, Lavallee M, et al. Supplemental nutrition assistance program work requirements and safety-net program participation. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2025;185(1):92–100.
3. Polak R, Frates B, Mirsky J, et al. Defining culinary medicine: A call for consensus on competencies to improve nutrition. Nutrients. 2025;17(9).
4. Upadhyay P, Kumar S, Chellammal HSJ, et al. Gut microbiota and dietary strategies for age-related diseases. Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. 2025;69(24).
5. Bruce AS, Suttiratana SC, Grabowski H, et al. "All my food is customized*": Barriers & facilitators concerning nutrition for persons living with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. 2025;24(6):1081–1089.
6. Blasco-Colmenares E, Farag YMK, Zhao D, et al. Anemia, CKD, and cognitive function: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Kidney360. 2024;5(6):895–899.
7. O'Connor SG, Connor LEO, Higgins KA, et al. Conceptualization and assessment of 24-H timing of eating and energy intake: A methodological systematic review of the chronic disease literature. Advances in Nutrition. 2024;15(3).
8. Rainford M, Barbour LA, Birch D, et al. Barriers to implementing good nutrition in pregnancy and early childhood: Creating equitable national solutions. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2024;1534(1):94–105.
9. Scierka LE, Cleman J, Brice AE, et al. Association between undernutrition and mortality and amputation outcomes in chronic limb threatening ischaemia: A systematic review. European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. 2024;68(6):771–783.
10. Thomas OW, Reilly JM, Wood NI, et al. Culinary medicine: Needs and strategies for incorporating nutrition into medical education in the United States. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development. 2024;11.
11. Chen Y, Zhao LG, Jung SY, et al. Diabetes risk reduction diet and risk of liver cancer and chronic liver disease mortality: A prospective cohort study. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2024;296(5):410–421.
12. Chwyl C, Metzler AL, Nguyen JT, et al. "Mindset matters": Perseverance, a balanced approach and structured support as facilitators of whole foods plant-based adoption. Appetite. 2024;194.
13. Charles JA, Wood NI, Neary S, et al. "Zoom"ing to the kitchen: A novel approach to virtual nutrition education for medical trainees. Nutrients. 2023;15(19).
14. Puklin LS, Harrigan M, Cartmel B, et al. Randomized trial evaluating a self-guided lifestyle intervention delivered via evidence-based materials versus a waitlist group on changes in body weight, diet quality, physical activity, and quality of life among breast cancer survivors. Cancers (Basel). 2023;15(19).
15. Hull SC, Charles J, Caplan AL. Are we what we eat? The moral imperative of the medical profession to promote plant-based nutrition. American Journal of Cardiology. 2023;188:15–21.
16. Wood NI, Stone TA, Siler M, et al. Physician-chef-dietitian partnerships for evidence-based dietary approaches to tackling chronic disease: The case for culinary medicine in teaching kitchens. Journal of Healthcare Leadership. 2023;15:129–137.
17. Miller AN, Curtiss J, Taylor SN, et al. A review and guide to nutritional care of the infant with established bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Journal of Perinatology. 2023;43(3):402–410.
18. Morales SI, Vicente G, LaMonaca K, et al. The implementation of a nutrition intervention in food pantries: The spirit of SWAP. Health Promotion Practice. 2023;24(1S):80S–91S.
19. Nishibe T, Kano M, Matsumoto R, et al. Prognostic value of nutritional markers for long-term mortality in patients undergoing endovascular aortic repair. Annals of Vascular Diseases. 2023;16(2):124–130.
20. Zoh RS, Esteves BH, Yu X, et al. Design, analysis, and interpretation of treatment response heterogeneity in personalized nutrition and obesity treatment research. Obesity Reviews. 2023;24(12).
21. Horn AL, Bell BM, Bueno BGB, et al. Population mobility data provides meaningful indicators of fast food intake and diet-related diseases in diverse populations. NPJ Digital Medicine. 2023;6(1).
22. Sawalha K, Tripathi V, Alkhatib D, et al. Our hidden enemy: Ultra-processed foods, inflammation, and the battle for heart health. Cureus. 2023;15(10).
23. Karim AM, Li J, Panhwar MS, et al. Impact of malnutrition and frailty on mortality and major amputation in patients with CLTI. Catheter and Cardiovascular Interventions. 2022;99(4):1300–1309.
24. Perzia BM, Ying GS, Dunaief JL, et al. Reduction in ferritin concentrations among patients consuming a dark-green leafy vegetable-rich, low inflammatory foods everyday (LIFE) diet. Current Developments in Nutrition. 2022;6(6).
25. Kang HK, Jung JW, Kang MJ, et al. Hospitalization increases while economic status deteriorates in late stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 2007–2015. Journal of Thoracic Disease. 2021;13(4):2160–2168.
26. Boss M, Saxby N, Pritchard D, et al. Interventions supporting medical practitioners in the provision of lactation care: A systematic review and narrative analysis. Maternal and Child Nutrition. 2021;17(3).
27. Wood NI, Gleit RD, Levine DL. Culinary nutrition course equips future physicians to educate patients on a healthy diet: An interventional pilot study. BMC Medical Education. 2021;21(1).
28. Garza C, Stover PJ, Ohlhorst SD, et al. Best practices in nutrition science to earn and keep the public's trust. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2019;109(1):225–243.
29. Wood NI. A hands-on curriculum for teaching practical nutrition. Medical Education. 2019;53(5):520–521.
30. Katz DL, Frates EP, Bonnet JP, et al. Lifestyle as medicine: The case for a true health initiative. American Journal of Health Promotion. 2018;32(6):1452–1458.
31. Martinez OD, Roberto CA, Kim JH, et al. A survey of undergraduate student perceptions and use of nutrition information labels in a university dining hall. Health Education Journal. 2013;72(3):319–325.
32. Scolapio JS, Buchman AL, Floch M. Education of gastroenterology trainees: First annual fellows' nutrition course. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. 2008;42(2):122–127.