Dr. Heewon Gray, a USF College of Public Health (COPH) assistant professor and nutrition education expert, along with several COPH graduate students, recently presented at the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB) conference, held virtually in July.

The SNEB is an organization “dedicated to promoting effective nutrition education and healthy behavior through research, policy and practice and has a vision of healthy communities, food systems and behaviors,” according to the group’s website. The conference focused on nutrition education, intervention and behavior change. 

All the SNEB presentations go through a rigorous peer-review process. In the end, all the COPH submissions (five posters and one oral abstract) were accepted.

“Other conferences related to nutrition focus mostly on nutritional sciences,” said Gray. “I recommend this conference to [public health] students because it has more of a behavioral focus. It’s a great conference for students who are interested in working in or studying nutritional intervention within the community.”

Acadia Buro, a PhD candidate with a concentration in community and family health, is one of those students.

Buro received two awards for her presentation (comprised of a poster and an oral abstract) based on research she conducted with Gray and recent MSPH graduate Astha Kakkad. The presentation, entitled “Children with autism spectrum disorder who are picky eaters may consume more ultra-processed food than non-picky eaters,” received the SNEB’s Higher Education Division’s Student Research Award and Nutrition Education for Children Division Student Poster Research Award. Both awards recognize outstanding work by students.

As part of the awards, Buro and her co-authors received monetary prizes totaling $300. Buro intends to use her share on materials to support her dissertation research. 

“This was my third time attending the SNEB annual conference,” said Buro, who plans on graduating in 2021 and then pursue postdoctoral research. “It’s one of my favorite conferences, so I was grateful to win not one but two awards. Both the recognition and the monetary prizes brought some positivity to this difficult time.”

Other COPH presenters and their research included:

• Heewon Gray, Jessica Berumen, Sharonda Lovett. Perspectives of Community Residents on Food Access and Grocery Shopping Practices in Low-Income, Ethnic Minority Communities in Tampa, FL: A Qualitative Study. [Abstract] Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52 (7), S57.
• Heewon Gray, Sharonda Lovett, Jessica Berumen. Grocery Store Observations Using the CX3 Tool in Underserved Neighborhoods in Tampa, FL [Abstract] Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52 (7), S58.
• Whitney Fung Uy, Heewon Gray, Jennifer Marshall. Campus Food Insecurity and Pantry Awareness at a Public University in South Central Florida, [Abstract] Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52 (7), S72.
• Acadia Buro, Astha Kakkad, Heewon Gray. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Are Picky Eaters May Consume More Ultra-Processed Foods than Non-Picky Eaters. [Abstract] Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52 (7), S73.
• Whitney Van Arsdale, Heewon Gray, Acadia Buro. Development of an 8-Week Early Childhood Nutrition Education Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Parents [Abstract] Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52 (7), S87.
• Acadia Buro, Heewon Gray. Feasibility and Acceptability of BALANCE (Bringing Adolescent Learners with Autism Nutrition and Culinary Education). [Abstract] Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52 (7), S12-13.

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health