Health Sciences Professor Receives Distinguished Scientist Award from Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Last Updated on April 14, 2021 at 1:30 PM

Originally published April 14, 2021

By Laura L. Acosta

UTEP Communications

Maria Duarte-Gardea, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences at The University of Texas at El Paso has been selected to receive the 2021 Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Distinguished Scientist Award. The award will be presented during the Nutrition and Dietetics 2021 Virtual Conference and Exhibition from April 8 to 10, 2021.

Maria Duarte-Gardea, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences at The University of Texas at El Paso has been selected to receive the 2021 Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Distinguished Scientist Award.

The Distinguished Scientist award recognizes a Texas dietitian who has made outstanding and significant contributions to research in the field of dietetics, nutrition, food science or related sciences. The research may be basic or applied, of recent origin, and conducted in Texas.

Duarte-Gardea joined UTEP in 2001 as associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences. She was appointed chair of the department in 2009. Duarte-Gardea was instrumental in helping UTEP’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program achieve accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) in 2013. The MPH program earned reaccreditation for the maximum seven-year term in 2018.

Duarte-Gardea has extensive academic and clinical experience as a registered dietitian nutritionist, with a special focus on the implementation of culturally appropriate lifestyle interventions to reduce risk factors for chronic conditions prevalent in the Hispanic community.

An expert on gestational diabetes mellitus, she was the lead author on the paper titled “Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Gestational Diabetes Evidence-Based Nutrition Practice Guideline” in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2018.

Duarte-Gardea was appointed to serve on the Texas Diabetes Council, dietitian position from 2006 to 2017. She currently serves as chair of the research committee of the Diabetes Dietetics Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is an affiliate of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. It has a membership of over 4,000 registered dietitian nutritionists, dietetic technicians, and students in Texas.