Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics
Hi! I’m Claire, a graduate student at UC Berkeley with research interests in dietary interventions, the gut-brain axis, and global nutrition. I’m passionate about leveraging my creativity to develop innovative solutions to enhance nutritional care and improve health outcomes.
Graduate Research and Projects
Human Nutrition Trial
A dietary intervention designed and implemented to evaluate the effects of a high-protein lacto-ovo vegetarian diet on nitrogen balance and overall metabolic health.
Molecular Nutrition Manuscript
An investigation into how impairments in the PPAR-α gene affect liver metabolism in both fed and fasted states, with implications for metabolic disease understanding.
Dietetic Internship @ UCSF
Clinical dietetic training at UCSF Health, specializing in nutrition management for complex cases, while integrating high-quality patient care with advanced medical research.
Nutrition Research @ Gardner Lab, Stanford University
Designed a research proposal and used RStudio to conduct statistical analyses of dietary data from a randomized controlled trial.
"Maternal Nutrition: Exploring the Connection Between High-Fiber Diets and Zinc"
A poster presentation exploring the impact of high-fiber diets on zinc and phytic acid intake, aimed at providing insights into nutrient interactions and dietary recommendations during pregnancy.
American Cultures Engaged Scholarship (ACES) Chancellor's Public Fellow
Led project management for three global nutrition and food-related initiatives, collaborating with international community partners and mentoring undergraduate teams to deliver impactful, culturally significant projects.
Books Read
- This is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan
- Sustainability by Jeremy Caradonna
- The Good Gut by Justin Sonnenburg
- We Are What We Eat by Alice Waters
- Brain Energy by Christopher M. Palmer
- Clean by James Hamblin
- Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole
- The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu
- Exhalation by Ted Chiang
- Sourdough by Robin Sloan
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins
- Living with the Chimpanzees by Jane Goodall
- The Body Keeps Score by Bessel van der Kolk
- Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness by Dawn Clifford
- Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
- Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hanson
- Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics by Marion Nestle
- Heavy: an American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
- The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
- This is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo
- Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse
- Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl Jung
- Eating to Extinction by Dan Saladino
Events Attended
- 07.2024: MNSD Capstone Research Symposium - UCB
- 04.2024: CANDAC's 100th Annual Dietetics Conference - SF
- 03.2024: California Academy Advocacy Summit - Sacramento
- 03.2024: Taste of Asia Gala - Sprouts, SF
- 11.2023: Envisioning the Next 50 Years of Dietetics - UCB
- 10.2023: Teaching Kitchen Collaborative - Cleveland
- 10.2023: USDA Mental Health + Nutrition Network - Las Vegas
- 09.2023: Savoring Change Fundraiser - Sprouts, SF
- 05.2023: Master Chefs Gala - 18 Reasons, SF
- 04.2023: Sustainable Chef Panel - KQED, SF
- 12.2022: The Light We Carry Tour - Michelle Obama
- 11.2022: Food Politics - Marion Nestle
- 10.2022: Teaching Kitchen Research Conference - UCLA
- 09.2022: The Gut Microbiome - NUNM, Portland
- 07.2022: Slow Food Movement - Alice Waters
- 03.2022: Sprouts’ Benefit Gala - SF
- 08.2021: Culinary Medicine - Health meets Food Conference