Dr. Carmen Román-Shriver is developing the Health Science Center’s new Nutrition and Dietetics Program.
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Carmen Román-Shriver, Ph.D., RD, LD, director of the new Nutrition and Dietetics Program at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, received the Distinguished Trinko Service Award presented by Latinos and Hispanics in Dietetics and Nutrition (LAHIDAN), a member interest group of the American Dietetic Association (ADA).

Dr. Román-Shriver received the award Oct. 26 at the ADA Food & Nutrition Conference Expo in Chicago.

Director of the new Nutrition and Dietetics Program
Dr. Román-Shriver is developing the Nutrition and Dietetics Program in the School of Health Professions. Once accredited, the new program is expected to begin enrolling students in the fall of 2009 at the San Antonio and Laredo campuses. It will offer a dual bachelor’s and master’s degree that will prepare dietetics professionals in the areas of health promotion, disease prevention and treatment in a variety of job settings including hospitals, clinics, public health, schools, the food industry, federal agencies and higher education. A doctoral degree may be added at a later date.

“It’s is a great honor to receive this award,” Dr. Román-Shriver said. “As the first recipient of this award, I am deeply touched by the thoughtfulness of my colleagues at LAHIDAN. It is particularly meaningful because it honors a distinguished staff member of the ADA who was a champion for diversity within the organization.”

The award is named in memory of Genny Trinko, a former ADA vice president of Human Resources, who also is respected for instilling high professional standards in the ADA’s workforce.

"Dr. Carmen Roman-Shriver exemplifies an attitude of service and leadership through her research on nutrition issues impacting Hispanic communities such as childhood obesity. Above all she is a valuable role model and mentor to all dietetics and nutrition professionals who express the desire to work with Latino and Hispanic populations," said Delia Solis, M.S., RD, LD, community oriented primary care and outpatient care clinical nutrition manager at Parkland Health & Hospital System and a LAHADAN advisor.

LAHIDAN provides an opportunity for dietetics professionals with common interests, issues and backgrounds to network. It's purpose is to “support member needs while fostering the development and improvement of food, nutrition and health care for Latinos and their families in the United States and related territories, with outreach to Hispanic and Latino international members,” Dr. Roman-Shriver said.

Obesity and related health problems prevalent along Texas-Mexico border
Dr. Román-Shriver and her husband, Brent Shriver, Ph.D., an associate professor and a nutritional biochemist, were recruited to the Healtlh Science Center in 2007 to lead the new program through the Laredo Campus Extension, because obesity and other related health problems are prevalent in South Texas, especially along the Texas-Mexico border.

Students will need to have earned certain college prerequisites before entering the program through the San Antonio or Laredo campuses.

Dr. Román-Shriver earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Puerto Rico, her master’s from Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in Denton and her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, where she also completed post-doctoral training.

Served on Statewide Obesity Taskforce
In addition to faculty positions as TWU and Texas Christian University, Dr. Román-Shriver was an associate professor at Texas Tech University for 10 years, where she served as director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics and the Dietetic Internship Program. In addition to her active involvement in ADA committees since 1991, she served on the Statewide Obesity Taskforce that produced the "Strategic Plan for the Prevention of Obesity in Texas” in 2003. The strategic plan was the basis for the statewide “Building Healthy Families” program, launched in 2004 to tackle the growing obesity problem in Texas.