Chairman, Reza Hakkak, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, and College of Public Health.  He is Chairman of the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition.  His current research interests are influence of diet and nutrition on cancer prevention, obesity and breast cancer links, nutrition education, and interactions of food and drug metabolism.

Tina Crook, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Dietetic Internship in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition.  Her research and clinical interests include pediatric nutrition with an emphasis on the influences of diet and physical activity in the development of childhood obesity, body composition in childhood and its relationship to later obesity, and children with special health care needs.
 

Dana Barber Gonzales, PhD, MHSA is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. She maintains adjunct appointments with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College Of Public Health as Assistant Professor in the Health Policy and Management Section. Research interests include preschool obesity, community health education, health nutrition and wellness, children with special health care needs, individuals with disabilities, obesity, chronic health issues, graduate education and program evaluation.

Josh Phelps, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. His research interests include factors influencing food choices, eating habits, food availability, food access, and physical activity; policy impact/policy effectiveness; obesity as a disease; history of reductionist approaches to nutrition health/well-being; population-based versus individual-based approaches to addressing nutrition health and nutrition health-related issues; modes/approaches of community-based nutrition education.
 

Donna Rhoads, M.S., R.D., L.D., is an Instructor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition and Assistant Director of the Dietetic Internship. Her research and clinical interests are Geriatric Nutrition, Adult Education, and Management of Foodservice Operations.

 

Lori Maddox, MS, RD, LD is an Instructor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. Her research and clinical interests are parental behavior modeling and nutritional risk factors in children, nutrition in critical care, clinical management, and dietetics education. 


 

Polly A. Carroll, M.A., R.D., L.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. Her research and clinical interests are in food allergies and community wellness screening programs, as well as in human resources and clinical management.

Amanda Wells Dawson, M.S., R.D., L.D., is an Instructor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. Her research and clinical interests are in energy metabolism and geriatric nutrition.  She also has a special interest in nutrient databases and analysis systems.

Behjatolah M. Karbassi, Ph.D., is an assistant Professor in the Departments of Pathology and Dietetics and Nutrition.  He is a molecular biologist with extensive experience in tumor biology and tumor immunology. His research interests include; role of carbohydrate in tumor metastasis, relationships between energy imbalance and cancer progression and cancer prognosis, cancer vaccine and immunotherapy.

Verna Baker, MS, R.D., L.D., is an Instructor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition. Ms. Baker is the Course Director for Nutrition Counseling and the Nutrition Program Manager for KIDS FIRST, UAMS Department of Pediatrics. Research and clinical interest include nutrition counseling and education, pediatric nutrition, and nutrition management of children with special health care needs.

Lynn Christie, MS, R.D., L.D., is an Instructor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition and also a clinical dietitian that works with the pediatric food allergy patients at Arkansas Children Hospital. She is involved with research investigating the nutritional status of children with food allergies, threshold studies, and the natural history of food allergies. She also is a clinical coordinator for formula studies and pharmaceutical studies investigating anit-lgE drugs. She is involved with and writes for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.
 

Donald Mock M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pediatrics and Dietetics and Nutrition. He is Associate Director of the UAMS Clinical Research Center. Research interests include the nutrition of biotin in humans, particularly the role of biotin deficiency in teratogenesis and in other states of accelerated biotin degradation, and in the use of the biotin label to measure red blood cell mass and survival and erythropoetin pharmacokinetics non-radioactivly in infants and children.

Rosemary Rodibaugh, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Dietetic and Nutrition and she is the Extension Nutrition Specialist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Dr. Rodibaugh's main research interest is nutrition education.