Dr. Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez started in July as the the Director of the Dietetics Practice-Based Research Network for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Dr. Yakes Jimenez has been a research associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine and the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Preventive Medicine at the Health Sciences Center since June.
In her new role, Dr. Yakes Jimenez oversees the development, conduct and dissemination of translational research to optimize food and nutrition workforce capacity and capability, improve the delivery of food and nutrition services in multiple settings and enhance the health status of individuals, families and communities.
Studies for which she is the primary investigator or a co-investigator include work to examine the impact of implementing evidence-based practice guidelines on the practice and patients outcomes of registered dietitians working in multiple clinical areas; the development and refinement of a guide and set of tools for communities to use in assessing their food and nutrition security situation, identifying the best mix of interventions for that community, and evaluating and improving those interventions; and a project with Feeding America to evaluate the effectiveness of point of service nutrition education interventions in impacting food and nutrition behaviors of food bank clients.
The studies that Dr. Yakes Jimenez provides support for are being conducted at sites all over the United States as well as in India, Guatemala and Rwanda.