SCIENTIFIC PANEL OF INDEPENDENT EXPERTS

Dr. David Katz invented the unique Dietary assessment method, Diet Quality Photo Navigation (DQPN™) in February, 2016. The company was founded in July, 2016. The original Supervising Panel of Independent Experts was then assembled to oversee the developmental work. These world-renowned leading experts included Michael Dansinger, Christopher Gardner, Frank Hu, Gail Frank, David Jenkins, Mary Murimi, Linda Snetselaar, and Walter Willett. Today we continue to have support from the following Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Experts:

Dietitian and Nutritionist Advisory Committee

Our Dietitian and Nutritionist Advisory Committee is a hand-selected group of top-notch nutrition professionals lending their specialized expertise to Diet ID’s ever expanding map of global diet patterns.

Business Advisors

CHRISTOPHER GARDNER, PhD

Professor of Medicine
Stanford University

Dr. Gardner holds a PhD in Nutrition Science and is a Professor of Medicine at Stanford. He has served on numerous committees, including the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association and currently on the scientific advisory board of the Culinary Institute of America. Over the past 20+ years, he has conducted more than a dozen human nutrition trials and has examined the potential health benefits of dietary components such as soy, garlic, antioxidants, ginkgo, omega-3 fats, and vegetarian diets. All of these studies have involved extensive collection of dietary assessment data. He recently completed a 12-month weight loss diet study among 609 overweight and obese adults, a total of over 5,500 24-hour diet recalls were administered using NDS-R. Dr. Gardner’s research group recently created, tested, and published the results from a study testing a smart-phone app designed to promote and track vegetable consumption.

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MICHAEL DANSINGER, MD, MS

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine

Dr. Dansinger is founding Director of the Diabetes Reversal Program at Tufts Medical Center and an Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. He serves on the expert panel for the CDC’s Worksite Health ScoreCard project, is a nutrition and diabetes expert for WebMD, serves on the Council of Directors and Media Response Team for the True Health Initiative, and formerly Clinical Nutrition and Obesity Editor of the peer-reviewed Medscape Journal of Medicine. He was the principal investigator for the highly publicized research study “Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Weight Watchers, and Ornish Diets for Weight Loss and Cardiac Risk Reduction” (JAMA 2005) and continues to conduct clinical research in lifestyle program effectiveness trials and approaches to increasing adherence to lifestyle recommendations. 

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GAIL FRANK, DrPH, MPH, RD, CHES

Professor of Nutrition
California State University Long Beach

Dr. Frank is a Nutritional Epidemiologist having designed and implemented the dietary studies for the Bogalusa Heart Study for 16 years to investigate the association of dietary components on the early natural history of cardiovascular disease in children. She was Co-Principal Investigator for the ‘Women’s Health Initiative’ at the University of California, Irvine for 10 years and Co-Project Director of USDA-NIFA grants focusing on Latino health promotion and nutrition for 8 years. In 2000, she founded “Students Active in Community Health’ (SACH) at California State University Long Beach to focus college students on health issues of diverse, multicultural groups in the U.S. Gail served 19 years as a media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and developed an accredited dietetic internship training over 300 registered dietitians into the profession. Among her major areas of her interest is health promotion with nutrition across the lifecycle.

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DAVID JA. JENKINS, MD, PhD, DSc

Chair, Nutrition & Metabolism
University of Toronto

Dr. Jenkins is Professor in the Departments of Nutritional Sciences and Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, a staff physician in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre, and a Scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital. His studies led to the development of the glycemic index and the plant based dietary portfolio for cholesterol reduction that aimed to link improved human health with the growing concern over human feeding patterns on environmental health. 

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MARY MURIMI, PhD, RD, LDN

Professor of Nutrition
Texas Tech University

Dr. Murimi is Professor of Nutrition in the College of Human Sciences at Texas Tech University, president-elect for the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Associate Editor for the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, and Chancellor of Daystar University in Kenya Africa. Dr. Murimi’s research focuses on understanding the effects of the community environment on the nutrition status of the residents, and identifying coping strategies for food insecurity and factors that influence dietary behavior, especially among low-income populations. Recently, Dr. Murimi’s research has evolved to the study of usage of native vegetables in Africa to combat food insecurity and looking at ways of combating stunting in selected communities in Bangladesh. She has reported the findings of her research nationally and internationally with over 50 presentations in either oral, or publications at peer reviewed scientific journals. Dr. Murimi has received numerous recognitions for her achievements including the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior mid-career achievement award.

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LINDA G. SNETSELAAR, PhD, RD, FAND, LD

Professor of Epidemiology
University of Iowa

Dr. Snetselaar is Associate Provost of Outreach and Engagement, Professor in Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa. She has over 200 publications including two textbooks. She directs a Nutrition Center and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Dr. Snetselaar has been PI/Co-PI of numerous NIH funded research studies including the Lipid Research Clinics Studies, Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study, Dietary Intervention Study in Children, Women’s Health Initiative and the Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study; her current research focuses on dietary interventions in community settings.

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WALTER WILLETT, MD, DrPH

Professor of Nutrition & Epidemiology
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr. Willett is a renowned physician, nutrition researcher, and Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Willett is the principal investigator of the second Nurses’ Health Study, a compilation of studies regarding women’s health and risk factors for major chronic diseases. He has published over 1,500 scientific articles regarding various aspects of diet and disease and is the second most cited author in clinical medicine.

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Christy Wilson is a Tucson, AZ based Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a special interest in culinary nutrition. She is the owner of Christy Wilson Nutrition, LLC, a nutrition communications consulting service and blog. 

Originally from the border town of Nogales, Arizona, Christy is a cook, a health advocate and a teacher at heart. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Arizona and over the past 20 years, Christy has been in the business of health and wellness as a nutrition counselor, food and nutrition blogger, speaker, influencer and cooking teacher. She is a nutrition counselor at University of Arizona's Campus Health Service and advisor for Cooking on Campus, a student-led cooking class for university students. Her work with the HIV/AIDS community spans over a decade at El Rio Community Health Center where she counsels clients and teaches a monthly, nutrition-focused cooking class. She is also the founder of Fiesta Flavors, an interactive nutrition education lesson for elementary-aged school children.

Christy's passion for nutrition, cooking and teaching is highlighted in her website and food blog, www.ChristyWilsonNutrition.com, which showcases recipe development, blogging, and food photography work she has done in collaboration with numerous food brands and commodities over the past decade including Wonderful Pistachios, Almond Breeze, and Kikkoman, as well as the California Strawberry Commission, National Mango Board, and the National Honey Board. 

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Originally from San Luis Potosí, México, Alejandra studied nutrition, then earned a Masters in public health focused on nutrition at Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, where she currently is earning her PhD in nutrition science.

Her love for traditional Mexican cuisine set her to study the course “Diplomado de cocina y cultura alimentaria de México” at Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia.

Her professional goal is to contribute to social equality and health of the Mexican population through research, design, and evaluation of health promotion and nutrition programs with a social determinants perspective. She is interested in food insecurity, health promotion,  traditional cuisines, “alimentación sostenible y nutrición en situaciones de emergencias humanitarias.”

Alejandra has participated in nutrition and food security programs in “Programa Estratégico de Seguridad Alimentaria y Programa de Servicios de Alimentos en Escuelas de Tiempo Completo.” She also worked on community nutrition, planning healthy diet workshops, vegetable garden skills, and diets to prevent and manage chronic diseases.  She has also collaborated on food and nutrition program evaluations for non governmental organizations.

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Rohini Bajekal is a nutritionist (MA Oxon, MSc Nutrition and Food Sciences, Dip IBLM) and a Board-Certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional. She is based in London where she provides evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle advice to her clients and has previously worked in India and Singapore.

Rohini is a Board Member and Head of Communications at Plant-Based Health Professionals UK - an organisation that educates health professionals, members of the public and policy makers on the benefits of whole food plant-based nutrition in preventing and treating chronic disease. A keen recipe developer, Rohini is passionate about making delicious, affordable and nourishing plant-based meals. She is a Cookery Teacher at Made in Hackney, the UK's only eco-community cookery school and charity.

As a women's health advocate, Rohini is Brand Manager for Women for Women’s Health (WfWh), a voluntary service set up to empower women of all ages to make lifestyle choices that will help improve their own health as well as that of their families. Find out more about Rohini and her work at www.rohinibajekal.com or follow her on Instagram for daily tips. You can also reach her via email at hello@rohinibajekal.com

Chicago-based dietitian Sylvia Klinger is an international recognized nutrition expert who is relentlessly passionate about helping people fall in love with the process of creating and enjoying delicious but most importantly, nutritious foods. A food and nutrition communications professional, award-winning author and global nutrition professor Dr. Sylvia Klinger is founder of Hispanic Food Communications.

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Mexico City, Sylvia is bi-lingual in English and Spanish and has over 35 years of professional experience in the areas of weight management, plant-based nutrition, maternal and lactation nutrition, cultural diversity, and optimal wellness and disease prevention.

It’s her Hispanic background that has fueled her passion for nutrition, which has led her to empower and encourage those in her community through the foods they make in their kitchens. Understanding that everyone’s needs are different, Sylvia seeks to individualize nutrition, so that it can be a highly beneficial experience to us all during the unique journey we are here to live.

It has been through the study of nutrition and her experiences growing up in a Hispanic home that Sylvia has realized the power nutrition has: the power to glue people together, no matter who they are or where they come from. Sylvia loves learning about food and exploring how food impacts our culture. Her latest publication, The Little Book of Simple Eating was published in 2018 in both English and Spanish.

In her spare time, Sylvia can be found exploring food and culture all over the world with her family.

Karla is a co-founder of the Latin American Lifestyle Medicine Association, co-founder of Lifestyle Medicine Clinics, founder of Healthview Lifestyle Institute, professor at the Ricardo Palma University in the first accredited specialty in Lifestyle Medicine in Latin America for physicians and health professionals, where she is director of the culinary medicine workshops. She is also co-author of the university textbook Principles of Lifestyle Medicine: The New Global Discipline. 

Karla has a master's degree in Public Health with a focus on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from Florida International University and completed her clinical research fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. She was president of the South Florida chapter of the Peruvian American Medical Society (2016-2019). She is a health and wellness coach and culinary coach and has been a speaker in several international symposiums, radio and television in Latin America. 

French Canadian Antoine Beauchamp Lepage is a dietitian and former chef specializing in Plant-based alimentation. After about 15 years of cooking in Canada, France, and Italy, he got his bachelor’s in nutrition and started working with Plant-Based Dietitians and practicing across Canada to help families and athletes reach their full potential.But while private practice can help individuals, Antoine wanted to reach more people, so he’s now building his own community through social media to share his culinary and nutrition knowledge. You can learn with him on his YouTube channel or on his Instagram!

What Antoine loves at least as much as food and nutrition are projects like collaborating on promoting healthy lifestyles with non-profit organizations, volunteering with Dietitians of Canada, and giving workshops for youth or caregivers. He also created a cookbook and plans on doing much more in the future! When he’s not working on one of his many projects, Antoine creates memories with his daughter through adventures and around the table!

Christine Pham, a Vietnamese American Dietitian in Southern California, merges traditional Vietnamese foods with healthy eating to support her community's health. With a Bachelor's in Nutrition and Dietetics from California State University, Long Beach, she grew up in Westminster, where her mother's cooking introduced her to Vietnamese cuisine's rich flavors. This background fuels her mission to blend comfort food with nutrition, especially aimed at helping the Vietnamese community in Southern California combat chronic health issues through diet. 

Christine works as a Clinical Dietitian and does private nutritional consulting. She emphasizes the role of food as medicine, integrating cultural traditions with healthy lifestyles. Her holistic wellness approach includes physical activity and nutrition education, extending her impact through school and NGO nutrition programs. An advocate for balanced living, Christine's personal life as a fitness enthusiast and mother adds depth to her professional expertise, making her relatable to clients facing the challenges of nutritious family meal planning.