Nutrition
Josephine Connolly Schoonen, PhD, RD Ms. Connolly received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nutrition from Cornell University and her Master's Degree in Nutrition with a minor in Exercise Science from the Pennsylvania State University. After working in industry for two years, she pursued a degree in academic medicine, joining the Department of Family Medicine in 1992. Ms. Connolly is the director of the Dietetic Internship Program, as well as the director of two New York State Department of Health funded community nutrition grants. She has also secured internal funding from the NIH funded General Clinical Research Center to support an obesity research project. Ms. Connolly has served as an American Dietetic Association media spokesperson, editor of the Sports and Cardiovascular Nutritionists newsletter the Pulse, and board member for the Long Island Dietetic Association. In addition, Ms. Connolly has copyrighted a unique food guide, the Bull's-Eye Food Guide. Based on this guide she has published a weight management book for the general public, called Losing Weight Permanently with the Bull's-Eye Food Guide (Bull Publishing, 2004) and a manual for health care professionals. She is published in professional research journals as well as in books and literature for the general public. Her areas of interest include obesity, diabetes, eating disorders and hyperlipidemias. Lorraine Danowski, MS, RD Ms. Danowski received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nutrition from the State University of New York at Oneonta and her Master's Degree in Nutritional Science from Long Island University at CW Post. Ms. Danowski has over 15 years of experience in the field of nutrition, including 13 years in clinical nutrition, 7 years in nutrition support, 2 years in sales of nutrition-related products and 5 years in food service management. She has taught in college and university settings for 4 years. Ms. Danowski was instrumental in the development of the SUNY Stony Brook Dietetic Internship, serving on the Advisory Board and writing curriculum. She served as president of the Long Island Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. Her areas of interest include nutrition support, pediatrics, diabetes and food service management. Lauren Gargiula Brand, MS, RD Ms. Gargiula received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resources with a major in Dietetics and a minor in Biology from the University of Delaware. She has recently completed a Master of Science Degree in Nutrition. She coordinates the Women, Infants, and Children Program a pediatric weight management program. She joined the Department of Family Medicine in May 2000. Ms. Gargiula has an interest in community nutrition, pediatric obesity and eating disorders. Leah Nemerson Holbrook, RD Coordinator, Heart Links Program of Suffolk and Nassau Counties Leah Nemerson - Holbrook received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition from Long Island University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Health Care Policy and Management from Stony Brook University. Prior to joining the Department of Family Medicine in 2003, Ms. Holbrook worked in the area of weight loss, diabetes management and pediatric nutrition. She currently coordinates The Heart Links Project of Suffolk and Nassau Counties, a grant-funded program offering resources to school districts to address nutrition and physical activity environments. Ms. Holbrook also offers individual and group counseling at Student Health Services on the Stony Brook main campus. Her areas of interest include community health, child nutrition and weight management. Wendy Hildebrant, MS, RD Coordinator, Heart Links Program of Suffolk and Nassau Counties Ms. Hildebrant received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Community Health Education with a minor in Nutrition from Ithaca College, and her Master's Degree in Health Care Policy and Management with a concentration in Nutrition from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She has recently completed the SUNY Stony Brook Dietetic Internship Program, and joined the Department of Family Medicine in February 2006. Along with Leah Nemerson Holbrook, she coordinates the Heart Links Program of Suffolk and Nassau Counties. Ms. Hildebrant has an interest in community nutrition, diabetes, and obesity. The dietitians at the Department of Family Medicine specialize in nutrition therapy for the treatment of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and gastrointestinal disorders. In addition, they have expertise in sports nutrition, health promotion, nutrition in pregnancy and nutrition for toddlers and kids. Individual and group sessions are available. Medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling services are available at:
Target Fitness Weight Management Program for Adults
Target Fitness Weight Management Program for Kids and Teens Target Fitness for Work Sites Target Fitness at the Supermarket New York State Department of Health Funded: Heart Links Project of Suffolk and Nassau Counties The mission of the Heart Links Project of Suffolk and Nassau Counties is to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by identifying, evaluating, promoting, and increasing opportunities for community members to engage in healthy behaviors. Primary to this is improving habits related to nutrition and physical activity. The Heart Links staff works with faculty, staff, administrators, students, and parents to create school environments that empower children to maximize learning potential and health. We propose a coordinated four-pronged approach in school districts: awareness campaigns, educational programs, advocacy, and policy implementation. Heart Links, founded in 1993, is a project funded by the New York State Department of Health, Healthy Heart Program located at Stony Brook University in the Department of Family Medicine. Comprised of a team of dedicated Registered Dietitians and other public health professionals, the Heart Links staff focuses on recruiting school districts interested in improving the school food environment and working with key district personnel in achieving that goal. Many factors affect a child's food preferences and eating habits including the home environment, media and marketing strategies. The latter has become much more of an issue as children are often the target of aggressive promotional activities by the food and beverage industry that influence both home, school and community environments. As a result, establishing healthier school environments and educating children about issues related to health and nutrition has become essential in the face of the increasing availabilty of high fat, high sugar and low nutrient foods. Schools partnering with the Heart Links Project are on the forefront in dealing with the pediatric obesity epidemic and are choosing to become part of the solution. Overweight and its related conditions are becoming evermore present in todays youth and impact a child's learning potential, self-esteem and short- and long-term health. Establishing educational programming and coordinated policy implementation that allow for the development of healthier eating habits among children is key to affecting change. For more information, please go to the Heart Links webpage. WIC is a nutrition education and supplemental food program for low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to 5 years of age. WIC services are available at two locations:
WIC participants receive:
For an appointment, or for more information, please call (631) 444-5239. Recent/Current Research Projects Weight Management Study Effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy for adult obesity is being studied through a prospective, randomized clinical trial examining the efficacy of three different weight management programs on resting metabolic rate and long-term weight loss. Each weight management intervention was 20-weeks long and subjects’ one-year follow-up visits were completed in December 2004. Fifty-nine subjects were enrolled in the study and 25 subjects completed the study. Data have been scanned and databases are currently being created. Data analysis will be conducted in the spring with publications submitted in the summer and fall of 2006. This project is being conducted with support from the General Clinical Research Center. Heart Links Project: Community Nutrition Intervention In the fall of 2004, Connolly-Schoonen put together a research team to address the pediatric obesity epidemic from a community perspective. This work is supported by the NYSDOH-funded Heart Links project. The broad goals are as follows:
Full implementation of the program will take place in receptive school districts over the 2006-2007 school years, once pilot testing is complete. This project will result in a number of papers to be prepared in 2006-2008 as post-intervention data are collected. Initial papers will be on a review of the literature regarding youth-led health advocacy programs and fields of influence on the production of pediatric obesity.
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