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I obtained a PhD in the Nutrition Department at Purdue University, focusing in vitamin and mineral metabolism by conducting several metabolic studies in adolescents under the direction of Dr. Connie M Weaver, generating several publications (AJCN 2010, Am J Med Sci. 2008, AJCN 2007, AJCN 2005, JCEM 2004). I later continued postdoctoral training with Dr. Weaver in the same area. From 2006-2017, I was a full time faculty in the Nutrition Program, School of Public Health of the University of Puerto Rico. Currently, I am an associate Professor at the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, in the Stempel College of Public Health, at Florida International University. I have been involved in several NIH-funded randomized clinical trials (RCT) in children, adolescents and pregnant women and in other non NIH-funded studies in infants and young adults. In these trials I have tested, in collaboration with a multi-disciplinary group, the effects of various nutritional interventions on body composition. In particular, we tested a life-style RCT intervention among pregnant obese women to promote adequate gestational weight gain. We also recently completed a RCT using mindfulness among college age students for weight reduction. We have also tested different technologies, such as short mobile messages and mobile applications, on obesity prevention. We completed a trial using short mobile messages in parents and guardians of infants 0-2 months for promoting adequate weight gain in the first few months of life. Also, we are currently conducting a trial to test a new website to deliver the nutrition education among WIC participants. In addition, we pilot tested the smartphone application MyNutricart among overweight and obese adults for improving diet and weight. Since 2010, she serves as a Consultant for the Nutrition Department at the World Health Organization as a leading expert on Vitamin D and since 2016, she is a consultant for the Pan-American Health Organization in infant nutrition. She has more than 65 publications in peer-reviewed journals, chapters in books and in non-peer reviewed journal. She has mentored >50 students involving them in her research projects. She has taught a wide-range of courses and seminars and has presented more than 30 conferences in the US and in different countries, including Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Venezuela. In addition, she has been involved in different service committees on national and international levels, and serve as an active member of the American Society of Nutrition and the Latin-American Nutrition Society (SLAN). She is an editorial Board Member of the Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal, Scientific World Journal, Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición and an external editorial reviewer for the WHO. She has been an active reviewer for more than 30 scientific journals. Finally, a key aspect in the translation of her research has been the development of community collaborations, such as with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. Recently, she was awarded a three-year Robert Wood Johnson grant to improve the effectiveness of WIC’s nutrition education by partnering with the community and levering technology. She also has been funded by NIH, USDA, RCMI and RTRN
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