PhD Students
Hi! My name is Nicole Vitale and I am a 4th year PhD student in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at Florida International University (FIU). I received both my Bachelors and Masters degrees from FIU in 2015 and 2020, respectively. I am a former Early Childhood Educator and am now a Registered Dietitian with experience in pediatric nutrition. I have gained ample research experience as a member of Dr. Coccia’s research lab over the past several years assisting with program development, implementation and data analysis on a variety of projects. My research interests include community nutrition education with a focus on early childhood and school-aged children. My dissertation research aims to enhance early childhood teachers’ personal and classroom nutrition practices through the development and implementation of a teacher training intervention program titled “The T.E.A.C.H. Study”. This study is an extension of my masters project which assessed the effects of a nutrition education program on intake, food preferences and nutrition knowledge in children 4-6 years old. My goal is to continue research within this population and to develop nutrition programming for families, students and teachers with the aim of altering eating behaviors to combat childhood obesity and enhance the health of our nation’s youth.
Hi! My name is Ariana Bolivar. I am a second year PhD student and a Registered Dietitian. In the past, I have volunteered with various organizations such as Common Threads and Women’s Breast and Heart Initiative where I was given a platform as a nutrition educator to promote preventive health education for women and children. Through my volunteerism, I developed an interest in research towards community nutrition. I hope to use my new founded skills as a PhD student and RD to further my research interest towards improving eating behaviors and nutrition knowledge for children and young adults.
Former Ph.D. Students
Sarah Nakshbandi Ph.D., R.D., LD/N graduated in Spring 2023. Her dissertation investigated if social media use in young adults mediates the relationship between social cognitive theory constructs and fruit and vegetable intake. In addition, Sarah examined the quality, reliability and popularity of YouTube and TikTok fruit and vegetable intake-related videos.
Shante Jeune Ph.D., R.D., LD/N graduated in Summer 2022. Her dissertation examined the relationship between interoception, self-regulation, multiple eating styles and its’ association with weight status. As a secondary aim, she explored how environmental stimuli (such as stress, work, school, family) affected interoception, self-regulation, various eating styles and weight status. Shante is currently a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Central Florida.
Alison Macchi Ph.D., R.D. graduated in Summer 2021. Her doctoral dissertation focused on improving nutrition knowledge and intake in food insecure college students participating in a gardening and cooking intervention. She is currently a postdoctoral associate with the Met-A-Bone Trial at Florida International University under the direction of Dr. Cristina Palacios.
Padideh Haddadian Lovan Ph.D., R.D., LD/N. graduated in Fall 2020. Her dissertation focused on the relationship between internal bodily cues of hunger/satiety and food intake in college students. She is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar with the South Florida Cancer Control Training in Disparities and Equity (South Florida C-TIDE) program which is part of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine.
Priya Krishnakumar Ph.D. graduated Spring 2021. Her dissertation focused on teaching the understudied Asian Indian group of fathers, about nutrition and healthy eating as a family. Her research looked at the primary effect of a father-focused, web based nutrition education intervention program called ‘Super Dads Super Kids’ on their nutrition knowledge and child feeding practices. This 6 week program with a 12 week follow up was based on constructs of the Social Cognitive Theory. Priya is currently an Assistant Professor at NOVA Southeastern University.
Student Volunteers
Our Master’s students take the initiative to work and volunteer in our community nutrition research projects. Their dedication and commitment helps to produce quality interventions that stand to make a difference in our community!