Professor, Allied Health Sciences (Principal Investigator)

Valerie B. Duffy (PhD, RDN) and her team have two complimentary research interests. First, we attempt to understand variation in chemosensory perception in humans and how this variation influences food flavor, food preference and food intake. Our ultimate goal is to understand how chemosensory variation influences our ability to follow a healthy diet for the prevention of chronic disease and obesity. Second, we collaborate with community agencies across the state to promote healthy diets and healthy weights of children and their, particularly those of economic disadvantage. Through involvement of undergraduate and graduate student research, we are investigating the effectiveness of community-based interventions to improve vegetable intake and level of physical activity of children. Dr. Duffy and her students have numerous publications and presentations at national and international meetings. She has received several awards for excellence in teaching, research and service. Students who have trained with Dr. Duffy are advancing nutrition and health through research, practice or public health leadership.

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Extension Educator

Tina Dugdale is an Extension Educator at the University of Connecticut in the Department of Allied Health Sciences. Implementing curricula that she developed, she manages and mentors dietetic undergraduates, dietetic interns, and Masters students through practicum courses that include the opportunity to deliver tailored and culturally sensitive nutrition education to the income-challenged and food insecure in the state of Connecticut. She has been funded by USDA SNAP Education for 20 years. Tina has served as both the President of the CT Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Delegate. She is currently serving as the Secretary. Tina is married with three children, has two granddaughters, and in her spare time enjoys cooking, gardening and hiking.

SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator

Donna joined the UConn School & Family SNAP-Ed nutrition team in 2009 with a broad background in food service management, health promotion, and marketing communications. She currently oversees dietetics undergraduates, interns, and Masters students during their community nutrition rotation within the Allied Health Sciences Dietetics Coordinated Program and Internship. She also oversees SNAP-Ed program reporting for the UConn School & Family SNAP-Ed project. Donna is committed to helping others make healthy dietary and lifestyle changes to enjoy the benefits of eating well and feeling great.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

Daniela is a Graduate Student, Research Assistant studying Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Daniela is an international student from Brazil and earned a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition from the Federal University of Vicosa. Also, she completed an exchange program at State University of New York at Plattsburgh and Summer Internship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is passionate about learning how to prevent obesity, especially in disadvantaged populations. Daniela's research focuses on improving dietary outcomes through interactive nutritional strategies such as leveraging technology.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

Kate Killion is a doctoral student, research assistant, and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) studying Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Kate earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science from Boston University in 2018, and a Master of Public Health degree in Dietetics from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2021. She also earned her RDN credential in 2021. Kate is passionate about public health nutrition, nutrition education, and ensuring all people have the tools they need to eat a healthy, enjoyable diet. Her research focuses on  community-based programs and policies to improve diet quality in people across the lifespan.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

Amy is a registered dietitian, graduate assistant, and second year master's student studying Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Connecticut. She graduated from UConn's undergraduate Dietetics Coordinated Program in May 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Dietetics. In summer 2021, Amy interned with the Healthy Family Connecticut team to promote healthy eating and physical activity to SNAP-eligible CT residents. Her interests include health equity, women’s and children’s health, and evidence-based practice.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

Heather is a registered dietitian, graduate assistant, and second-year masters student in Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Connecticut. She graduated in May 2018 with an associates degree in Exercise Science from Three Rivers Community College. In May 2022 she graduated from the Dietetics Coordinated Program with a bachelor's degree in Dietetics from the University of Connecticut. In the summer of 2021 and 2023 Heather worked with the Healthy Family CT team to promote healthy eating and physical activity to SNAP eligible residents in southeastern CT. In her free time she enjoys gardening, playing with her dogs, and spending time with her husband. Heather is looking forward to becoming a first-time Mom in May 2024.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

Kate Walder is a registered dietitian, graduate assistant, and first year master’s student studying Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Connecticut. After graduating from UConn’s undergraduate Coordinated Program in Dietetics and obtaining her RDN in 2021, Kate provided nutrition counseling services to patients with obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases as an Outpatient Clinical Dietitian at Backus Hospital. Kate’s research interests include school-based obesity prevention through Farm to School initiatives and school gardening programs.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

Julia is a registered dietitian and graduate assistant studying Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Connecticut. She graduated from UConn in May 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Dietetics after completing the Coordinated Program in Dietetics. Julia is passionate about behavior change counseling and helping people improve their diet quality while fostering a healthy relationship with food and body. In her free time, Julia enjoys hiking, teaching dance, cooking, and relaxing with a good book.

Faculty Advisors

Professor, Department of Communication

Professor Lin (Ph.D. in Media and Information) focuses her research and teaching on topics concerning health, risk, science, environmental, marketing, multicultural and computer-mediated communication at individual, community and societal levels.  Motivated by her interest in the emerging digital technologies, she founded the Communication Technology Division at the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication. Professor Lin has developed or co-developed a commercialized bioinformatics system, a serious game for health and a mobile application for personal risk management. Combining this eHealth expertise with her marketing communication background, her work has examined the persuasive effects of positive health promotion messages on motivating the acceptance and adoption of healthy behavior. Since 2014, Dr. Lin has been partnering with Dr. Duffy in developing communication messages to promote healthy eating habits and physical activity among children. She has also collaborated with Dr. Duffy on projects that assess the effectiveness of community-based intervention programs to help children develop healthy lifestyles that can be sustained throughout their adulthood.   

Professor, Department of Communication

Dr. Shane J Sacco is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University. His primary focus is applied statistics. Dr. Sacco shared his expertise as game developer for the Healthy Family Connecticut, UConn's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Outside of academia, Shane enjoys hiking, reading, and playing video games.

Student Collaborators

Honors student, Junior in Allied Health Sciences

Jillian Watt is a senior Honors student at UConn majoring in Allied Health Sciences and minoring in both Spanish and Molecular & Cell Biology. She is on a pre-med track and aspires to be a reproductive endocrinologist. Jillian is a first-generation, Native American college student, whose research focuses on understanding the opinions that Elders of the Mohegan Tribe have regarding the roles that Traditional foods play in health and what types of cultural foods they value in different environmental settings. Jillian also works as a Research Assistant to Dr. Christina Ross in the UConn School of Nursing to provide educational materials on sexual health and reproduction to African American adolescents in the form of an app. She is also part of the UConn Healthy Family CT Healthy Toddlers team, making frequent posts to our private Facebook page for parents of toddlers. Outside of the classroom, Jillian is a fourth-year veteran of the UConn Dance Team. She is also employed as a Chiropractic Physical Therapy Assistant at Thames Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center and interns at UConn Health in the Nurses Improving Care for Hospitalized Elders Program.

Graduate Student

Courtney is a graduate student in the Coordinated Master's in Health Promotion program at UConn. While completing her master's, she is also spending time in the field as a dietetic intern. Courtney received her Bachelor's Degree in Nutritional Sciences from Springfield College. After graduating in 2018, she spent four years working for Springfield South WIC in MA as a program nutritionist and breastfeeding coordinator. Courtney is passionate about childhood and maternal nutrition. During summer 2023, she interned with the Healthy Family CT team sharing nutrition education in different communities across CT. Her goal is to become a pediatric Registered Dietitian after graduating to continue making an impact on the health and wellbeing of children and families who are in need.

Graduate Student

Maya is a second-year master’s student studying Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Connecticut. She graduated from UConn’s undergraduate Dietetics Coordinated Program in May 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences. She completed an independent study in community nutrition to provide nutrition education to residents at homeless shelters. She is involved in research with the Healthy Food Access team to use nutrition education and digital literacy education to improve diet quality. She is passionate about nutrition education and helping people make healthy lifestyle changes.

Graduate Student

Nikki is currently a second-year master’s student studying Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Connecticut. She graduated from UConn in May 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences. She is involved in research related to improving diet and digital literacy among individuals who order groceries online. Nikki also works as a Diet Technician at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and plans to continue working with children and families to promote healthy lifestyles

Graduate Student

Brenda is a first-year graduate student and research assistant in the Health Promotion Sciences program. She graduated in May 2023 as an Honors Scholar with a bachelor’s degree in Allied Health Sciences from UConn. As a second-generation Latina, Brenda is passionate about addressing diet disparities among Latinos in the US and improving food resources for Spanish-speakers.

Honors student, Junior in the Special Program in Dental Medicine

Grace is a junior at the University of Connecticut. She is an Honors student in the Special Program in Dental Medicine, majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology. She hopes to be a general or pediatric dentist in the future and work towards advocating for increased access to healthcare globally. Grace’s research focuses on using pediatric adapted liking surveys and tailored messages to promote healthy eating and oral hygiene behaviors in children within a pediatric dental office setting and the use of social media for the health education of parents. In her free time, she volunteers as a dental sterilization tech and an EMT, and she is involved in community service addressing social determinants of health and advocacy on campus.