Nutrition Faculty

Allison Miner, EdD, MS, RDN

mthomp7 — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 21:03:36 +0000

Allison Miner, EdD, MS, RDN mthomp7 Mon, 01/22/2024 - 16:03

Assistant Professor, Nutrition and Food Studies

Contact Information

aminer4@gmu.edu
(703) 993-7322

Personal Websites

ORCID

CV

Download the CV here.

Biography

Dr. Allison Miner is a licensed dietitian and educator. Dr. Miner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at ��AV in Fairfax, Virginia. She also provides medical nutrition therapy at the Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA, Health Unit). At the TSA she moderates a virtual weekly weight loss support group which is available to its 68,000+ employees. Miner is a member of the International WELL Building Institute, Nourishment Advisory Board which provides a roadmap for creating and certifying spaces that advance human health and well-being. Miner blogs on a variety of health and food topics on her website http://thesmarteater.com. She holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and master’s degree in international nutrition from the University of Maryland as well as a doctorate in education from Morgan State University. Her specialty is obesity and cardiovascular diseases, and her interests include urban gardening, using social media for weight loss advice, exercise, and her new grandson. She is very active in her community of Alexandria, Virginia where she serves on the Alexandria Public Health Commission. Miner is presently writing a book on weight loss strategies relevant to African American women.

Research Interests

Obesity in the African American female population,
Cardiovascular health, and
Food systems and the urban environment.

Select Publications

Miner, A., & Jackson, R. (1995). Assessment of Coronary Heart Disease Risk in a Central and South American Sample Living in Washington, D.C. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 95(9). doi:10.1016/s0002-8223(95)00666-4
Gill, R., Jackson, R. T., Duane, M., Miner, A., & Khan, S. A. (2017, August 5). Comparison of Metabolic Syndrome Indicators in Two Samples of Central and South Americans Living in the Washington, D.C. Area in 1993-1994 and 2008-2009: Secular Changes in Metabolic Syndrome in Hispanics. Retrieved April 14, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28783050

Memberships and Affiliations

Licensed Dietitian-Nutritionist (LDN), State of Maryland (DX2910), State of Florida (ND7719 - inactive), District of Columbia (DI925) (2008 – Present)
Member, Alexandria, Virginia Public Health Advisory Committee (2018 – Present)
Member, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2016 - Present)
Member, International WELL Building Institute, Nourishment Advisory Board (2021 - Present)

Degrees

Doctor of Education, Community College Leadership, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland (May, 2014)
Master of Science, International Nutrition, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland (May, 1995)
Bachelor of Science, Dietetics, University of Maryland (May, 1992)

Nutrition education can benefit individuals who are overweight with diabetic foot ulcers

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:44:49 +0000

Nutrition education can benefit individuals who are overweight with diabetic foot ulcers Mary Cunningham Thu, 10/13/2022 - 20:44

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

A new study by Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, suggests that dietary recommendations should prioritize proper wound healing for people who are overweight/obese with diabetic foot ulcers.

Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies,

Nutrition can play an important role in the treatment of chronic wounds; however, it is often overlooked as part of wound care. Diet therapy is not currently part of standard care for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), though some research has shown that nutrition can support healing. A new study by Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, further supports nutrition intervention to improve clinical outcomes.

Basiri’s new study suggests that dietary recommendations should prioritize proper wound healing for individuals who are overweight/obese with DFUs. Proper wound healing can be prioritized by recommending that patients consume adequate energy sources and essential nutrients, according to the study.

“Routine visits with a dietitian are essential for assessing the dietary needs of patients with diabetic foot ulcers and designing individualized nutrition therapy, which can result in effective clinical outcomes,” said Basiri, the principal investigator. “Identifying the adequate dietary intake of macro- and micronutrients in these patients, especially for those who are overweight or obese, is critical for expediting the wound-healing process and can make a substantial difference to medical expenses and quality of life in this population.”

To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates the effects of nutrition education and supplementation with extra calories, protein, and micronutrients on long-term blood glucose control and body composition in patients who are overweight and obese with DFUs. In addition to standard DFU care, the treatment group was asked to consume more low-fat protein sources, vegetables, and high-fiber carbohydrates, and a lower amount of simple carbohydrates; educated about and given examples of healthier food items; and provided a nutritional supplement to take twice a day.

On average, patients in the treatment group lost less lean body mass (8.4 lb. vs. 10 lb.) and gained less fat (2 lb. vs. 8 lb.) than the control group. Additionally, DFUs healed 12.85 times faster in the treatment group than in the control group, and inflammation significantly decreased in the treatment group. Previous research by Basiri found that nutritional education and supplements reduced inflammation in DFUs. The research team suspects that Basiri’s previous research, along with previous studies reporting that preventing the loss of lean body mass leads to faster healing of chronic wounds, could be why the treatment group healed quicker.

The findings of this study showed that supplementing a patient’s diet with extra energy sources and nutrients had positive effects on body composition and phase angle (an indicator of cellular health) and did not have any significant negative effects on long-term blood glucose control when combined with nutrition education.

Effects of Nutrition Intervention on Blood Glucose, Body Composition, and Phase Angle in Obese and Overweight Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers was published in Nutrients in September 2022. Other researchers included Maria T. Spicer and Thomas Ledermann, and Bahram H. Arjmandi from Florida State University.

Topics

Fox 5 DC (video): Dr. Lawrence Cheskin is interviewed about Mason research linking student dietary choices to potential health problems

eander6 — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 15:46:58 +0000

Fox 5 DC (video): Dr. Lawrence Cheskin is interviewed about Mason research linking student dietary choices to potential health problems eander6 Thu, 10/06/2022 - 11:46

In This Story

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD

Study: Health risks stem from college student's meals. Cheskin starts at the 35-second mark.

Topics

College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

South Florida Reporter: Dr. Sapna Batheja comments on the limitations of research in an article on the weight loss method of front-loading calories

eander6 — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 15:59:05 +0000

South Florida Reporter: Dr. Sapna Batheja comments on the limitations of research in an article on the weight loss method of front-loading calories eander6 Tue, 09/13/2022 - 11:59

In This Story

Sapna Batheja, PhD, RDN, LDN

Why Front-Loading Calories May Not Help You Lose Weight.

Topics

Nutrition

Nutrition Faculty

Weight Control

Nutrition and Weight Management

CHHS in the Media

College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

Nutrition clinic opens at College’s Population Health Center

Mary Cunningham — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 17:36:52 +0000

Nutrition clinic opens at College’s Population Health Center Mary Cunningham Mon, 08/15/2022 - 13:36

In This Story

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD

Allison McKay

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies opens clinic with expansion plans to include student practice with the dietitian program.

College of Health and Human Services faculty are committed to creating experiential learning opportunities for students that meet the public health needs of the community. Most recently, Nutrition and Food Studies (NFS) Department Chair Larry Cheskin, an MD, started a once-a-week nutrition clinic at the College’s Population Health Center.

The opening of the Nutrition Clinic is timely as the NFS Department recently received accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) and its first cohort of students begin in just a few week. The Master of Nutrition in Dietetics program is directed by Assistant Professor Sapna Batheja, PhD, RDN, LDN, and follows the Future of Education model for preparing Registered Dietitians. To ensure career-ready graduates, the ACEND Future Education Model integrates coursework and an internship into a two-year master’s program. The Clinic will be an additional source of hands-on learning for Mason dietetics students.

“As a university, we have the classrooms to teach students, and at Mason, we have this state-of-the-art medical facility, so we want to train students here too. The advantage of having our Mason nutrition clinic is that it is in the same place that they will receive their didactic training and it’s with the faculty who will teach their courses,” Cheskin said. “Plus, we’re able to better meet the community needs at Mason and underserved people in neighboring communities.”

Larry Cheskin, MD, and Allison McKay, RD, discuss the Nutrition Clinic in the College's Population Health Center.

Similar to the behavioral health clinic that opened in the Population Health Center earlier in 2022, the nutrition clinic will train students in the Dietetics program under the direct supervision of faculty who are Registered Dietitians or MDs. Clinical rotations for dietetic students will start their second year in the program. Also, like the behavioral health clinic, the nutrition clinic is a sliding scale model, which means the cost is income-based and affordable for those who have limited resources.

The clinic will help patients with obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and any health effect that diet can improve. Initially, patients will be referred by the School of Nursing’s Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinics, interprofessional clinics that serve the uninsured and refugee community within Prince William and Fairfax counties in Northern Virginia. The MAP Clinics also provide opportunities for Mason students to receive firsthand, guided experience in giving interprofessional care to patients and responding to community-based needs. Cheskin aims to grow the program to accept patients from other referrals as well.

Earlier this year, Registered Dietitian Allison McKay was brought into the department as the department manager in anticipation of the clinic. To begin, Cheskin and McKay will treat patients and the number of licensed practitioners will increase with additional funding and when students are able to join the team. Currently, funding for the Clinic is coming from the College, with opportunities for philanthropic support.

In the future, Cheskin also intends to expand telemedicine capabilities at the clinic. The Population Health Center is equipped to support telemedicine and, after their initial in-person visit, he could see patients appreciating the option of a virtual visit.

Learn more about Mason's Master of Nutrition in Dietetics here.

Topics

CHHS

Nutrition

population health center

Nutrition Faculty

Basiri Featured in Northern Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Newsletter

Mary Cunningham — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 13:08:46 +0000

Basiri Featured in Northern Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Newsletter Mary Cunningham Mon, 08/08/2022 - 09:08

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri was featured as the RDN (Registered Dietitian Nutritionist) Spotlight and discussed the importance of nutrition to public health.

Basiri gave this interview to the Northern Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (NVAND) and it was originally featured in NVAND's August 2022 newsletter.

1. What has been your path through dietetics? How did you get to where you are today professionally?

I have always been very interested in helping people to live healthier. I chose nutrition to support people’s health and well-being with minimum side effects. I got my bachelor’s degree in clinical nutrition and worked in in-patient and outpatient settings for seven years. Additionally, I was a founder of a dietetics clinic. Working with patients showed me that nutrition can play a very important role in the treatment of various diseases.

Therefore, I decided to help more people by adding to this amazing science. I was determined to go to graduate school, but I wanted to do it in the most advanced country in this field. After researching different programs in different countries, I chose the United States. I self-taught myself English and got admitted to Florida International University (FIU). I received my master’s degree in Dietetics and Nutrition at FIU and got accepted into the Ph.D. in nutrition at Florida State University (FSU). My passion for clinical nutrition made me go through the RD program again, this time in the US. After receiving my Ph.D./RD, I continued as a post-doctoral research fellow at FSU to do more research on the effects of functional foods on the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. I joined the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at ��AV in August of 2021 to educate and inspire more nutrition and dietetic students.

2. Tell us more about your career and what you enjoy most about your work.

I love that my teaching, research, and service activities influence people directly to make positive lifestyle choices. For my dissertation, I examined the effects of nutrition education and supplementation on wound healing in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. The results of my study showed that nutrition intervention helped diabetic foot ulcers heal 12.85 times faster than the control group. This indicates how nutrition can make a great difference in the quality of life of these patients. I love producing scientific evidence to prevent disease at first and to help patients with chronic diseases to better manage their conditions. I am so grateful that at ��AV, my teaching, research, and service activities are all strategically aligned to facilitate the greatest synergy in my professional work. As a result, I have been fortunate to receive funding to evaluate the effects of individualized nutrition therapy on the prevention and delaying of type 2 diabetes in individuals who are overweight and obese.

3. What do you believe to be emerging trends in the field of nutrition and dietetics, and how can other RDNs and future RDNs best prepare for these changes?

The science of nutrition is growing so fast. There are lots of controversies in this field and therefore it is essential for RDs to keep themselves up-to-date and to think critically when they are reviewing new information.

4. What have you learned through your experience as an RDN, and what else would you consider valuable in sharing with other NVAND members?

Nutrition plays a very important role in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. RDs should empower themselves by reviewing evidence-based information from valid and reliable sources so they can be confident about what they are doing. This will also support them to have a great positive impact on the quality of care in the healthcare system.

Learn more about Mason's Master of Science in Dietetics here.

Topics

CHHS

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

CHHS Faculty

Nutrition Faculty

Using Personalized Nutrition to Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Mary Cunningham — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 18:46:25 +0000

Using Personalized Nutrition to Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Mary Cunningham Tue, 08/02/2022 - 14:46

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD

Lilian de Jonge, PhD

Raedeh Basiri’s new clinical trial seeks to answer whether personalized nutrition intervention can be effective in lowering blood sugar (and thereby help to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes and related cardiovascular diseases) in people with prediabetes.

Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri

One in 10 Americans has diabetes and of those who do, 90% have type 2 diabetes. More than 1 in 3 Americans (96 million people) have prediabetes, many of whom don’t know it. Type 2 diabetes is a preventable disease and Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri’s new study hopes that personalized nutrition can stop prediabetes from progressing into type 2 diabetes.

“Many people know general health tips, such as eat more vegetables, yet are not following the health guidelines, which can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases,” said Basiri, who is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. “We understand that there are many factors that influence individual’s food choices – and sometimes those factors are outside their control. I want to study the why behind why people aren’t following health/dietary guidelines that can help prevent/delay these diseases. Is it access to foods? Their culture? The lack of knowledge? This study looks at how can we as dietitians help people put education into practice based on their individual body and personal desire.”

Type 2 diabetes occurs when there is too much sugar in someone’s bloodstream and it impairs the way the body processes insulin, a hormone that helps the body process sugar (glucose) as fuel. High blood sugar levels can lead to disorders including heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, non-healing foot ulcers, and stroke. With the correct diet and lifestyle adjustments, a person’s blood glucose levels can decrease and return to the non-diabetes range, but type 2 diabetes does not have a cure.

Prediabetes, when blood sugar levels are elevated but not yet at diabetes levels, is reversible if the appropriate lifestyle changes are made. A new study from Basiri and colleagues will help determine to what extent personalized nutrition intervention can help lifestyle changes in participants, who are unaware of having prediabetes or have been diagnosed with prediabetes.

The study emphasizes healthy eating and not weight loss or changing routine exercise to determine if only adjusting food intake will decrease blood glucose level, which in the long term could prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. In the study, the treatment and control groups will receive general dietary recommendations, similar to what would be provided to them in clinical settings currently, and be visited by the researchers once a week.

Participants in the treatment group will receive more individualized nutrition education. The goal is to lower participants’ blood sugar levels while meeting their dietary needs with foods they enjoy. Each person has a unique physiology, which makes food affect people differently. For example, if a person is very sensitive to a certain type of carbohydrates and it raises their blood sugar levels, but they love it, the dietitian will work with the participant on portion size and the best time of day for them to eat it. This is personalized nutrition.

The study, “Individualized Nutrition Therapy for Preventing or Delaying Onset of Type-2 Diabetes,” is a clinical trial. It has been approved by Mason’s Institutional Review Board and ClinicalTrials.gov and is funded by Mason's College of Health and Human Services. Nutrition and Food Studies Chair Larry Cheskin and associate professor Lilian de Jonge are co-investigators on the study.

Topics

Nutritional Supplements and Education Decrease Inflammation in Diabetic Patients with Foot Ulcers

Mary Cunningham — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 15:36:04 +0000

Nutritional Supplements and Education Decrease Inflammation in Diabetic Patients with Foot Ulcers Mary Cunningham Tue, 06/28/2022 - 11:36

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

A new study by Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri shows that nutritional interventions play a pivotal role in treatment and healing.

Nutritional supplementation and education would support faster healing in patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers.

A diabetic foot ulcer, an open wound on the foot, affects about 25% of diabetes patients, and without proper care, ulcers can lead to amputation. As with all chronic wounds, diabetic foot ulcers are persistently inflamed, which slows the healing process.

A new study by ��AV Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri finds that in people with diabetic foot ulcers, nutritional supplements and nutritional education can significantly decrease inflammation and enhance the healing process.

“Currently, nutritional interventions or referral to dietitians are not part of diabetic foot ulcer standard care. Our results show that nutritional interventions play an important role in decreasing inflammation and should be an integral part of treatment, underscoring the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to clinical care,” said Basiri, who is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri

Participants in the intervention group of the study were educated about improving their dietary intake by increasing their consumption of low-fat/high-bioavailable protein sources, vegetables, and high-fiber carbohydrates, as well as decreasing their intake of refined and simple carbohydrates.

In addition to nutritional education, patients took a nutritional supplement. People with diabetic foot ulcers have a significantly lower intake of micronutrients, especially potent antioxidants, which have shown the potential to alleviate chronic inflammation. The nutritional supplement provided at least 50% of the Food and Nutrition Board’s recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for antioxidants, and the nutrition education supported patients receiving the remaining antioxidant recommendations from their diet.

The study evaluated the effects of nutrition supplementation and education on inflammatory biomarkers in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. After 12 weeks, concentrations of the inflammatory biomarker IL6 decreased significantly in the intervention group, but increased drastically in the control group. Results on other biomarkers were not statistically significant. The sample size was relatively small, so researchers recommend more clinical trials with larger sizes to confirm the results.

To the research team’s knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial that uses both nutrition education and supplementation for improving inflammation status in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. “Improving Dietary Intake of Essential Nutrients Can Ameliorate Inflammation in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers” was published in Nutrients in June 2022.