Join us for the kick-off of ASPEN26 with Smriti Mehta and Dr. Maria Mascarenhas who will address the future of nutrition education.

Ms. Mehta is a student and community health advocate passionate about making nutrition education accessible and evidence-based. As Chair of the Pleasanton Unified School District’s Nutrition Committee, she has led policy changes reaching thousands of students, from introducing healthier breakfast options like overnight oats to launching a districtwide Nutrition Week. She is also the founder of BiteBalanced, a blog with over 60,000 readers that explores the biochemical and socioeconomic factors shaping food choices, and the author of Ella Eats, a children’s book that promotes healthy habits at a young age. Smriti’s work connects nutritional science, behavioral research, and policy design to build healthier, more equitable food systems.

Dr. Mascarenhas is a pediatric gastroenterologist in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

She is currently the Section Chief of Nutrition in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Medical Director of the Clinical Nutrition Department, and Medical Director of the Integrative Health Program.

Dr Mascarenhas received her medical degree from St John’s Medical College in India and completed her pediatric training at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. She completed her fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. Additional trainings include pediatric massage and clinical hypnosis. She is board-certified in Pediatrics, Nutrition and Pediatric Gastroenterology.

Dr Mascarenhas is an experienced clinician, educator, international speaker and is widely published. Her research areas include cystic fibrosis, nutrition support, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and integrative medicine.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the societal costs of poor nutrition, including effects on learning outcomes and healthcare spending.
• Summarize how community-based nutrition programs (such as the Edible Schoolyard) apply interprofessional approaches that integrate education, public health, and clinical prevention.
• Develop the view that healthcare team education in nutrition education is an essential component of improving population health and reducing disease burden.
• Describe the scientific foundations of integrative nutrition and the role of food as medicine in promoting health and managing disease.
• Identify the role of cultural practices on dietary patterns and their implications for patient-centered nutritional care.
• Apply evidence-based integrative nutrition strategies, including food-as-medicine approaches, to clinical practice for improved patient outcomes.