Associate Professor and Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics

Dr. Lizzy Pope is an associate professor and director of the undergraduate dietetics program. Currently, Lizzy is serving as Assistant Chair of the Nutrition and Food Sciences Department. Lizzy is also an affiliate of the Food Systems program and the Osher Center at UVM. Lizzy is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist as well as a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.

Lizzy’s research focus areas are on weight-inclusive nutrition education, manifestations of diet culture in social media and pop culture, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Lizzy is passionate about taking a weight-inclusive approach to health education to help young people develop more peaceful relationships with food and body. Currently, Lizzy is working on a project that will develop a weight-inclusive nutrition education curriculum and professional development for high school teachers.

Lizzy also actively explores the ways that diet culture appears on social media and in pop culture. Recently, Lizzy worked with a UVM Honors College student on a study published in 2022 which was the first study to examine the themes of nutrition-related content on TikTok. Taylor Swift has also liked a TikTok that Lizzy made with her Fundamentals of Nutrition class. Finally, Lizzy is actively engaged in SoTL work with a focus on innovative assessment in college courses, as well as creative pedagogy for large-enrollment courses. Lizzy enjoys using SoTL techniques to reflect on new teaching strategies she uses.

Research and/or Creative Works

Current projects explore:

  • Weight-inclusive nutrition curricula at both the post-secondary and high school levels
  • Examination of how diet culture appears in popular culture and social media
  • SoTL projects focused on choice-based assessment and large-enrollment course engagement

Publications

  • Minadeo. M., Pope, L. (2022). Weight-normative messaging predominates on TikTok – A qualitative content analysis. PLOS ONE. 17(11): e0267997. 
  • Ultsch, S., Pope, L., Buckland Parker, H. (2022). From training to transformation: Using a transformational learning model for faculty development to deepen critical conversations. The Journal of Faculty Development. 36(3). 58-63.
  • Clark, B., Pope, L., Belarmino, E. (2022). Perspectives from healthcare professionals on the nutritional adequacy of plant-based dairy alternatives: results of a mixed methods inquiry. BMC Nutrition. 8(46).
  • Clark, B., Pope, L., Belarmino, E. (2022). Personal bias in nutrition advice: A survey of health professionals’ recommendations regarding dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives. PEC Innovation. 1: 100005.
  • Pope, L., Alpaugh, M., Trubek, A., Skelly, J., Harvey, J. (2021). Beyond Ramen: Investigating methods to improve food agency among college students. Nutrients. 13: 1674.
  • Brinkman, J., Garnett, B., Kolodinsky, J., Wang, W., Pope, L. (2021). The buffering effect of intra-and interpersonal factors on the relationship between food insecurity among middle school students. Journal of School Health. 91(2): 102-110.
  • Alpaugh, M., Pope, L., Trubek, A., Skelly, J., Harvey, J. (2020). Cooking as a Health Behavior: Examining the Role of Cooking Classes in a Weight Loss Intervention. Nutrients. 12: 3669.

Awards and Recognition

Associations and Affiliations

  • Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor
  • Member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Lizzy Pope

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

  • Weight-inclusive nutrition education
  • Manifestations and understanding of diet culture
  • SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) research

Education

  • PhD, Animal, Nutrition and Food Science, University of Vermont, 2013
  • MS, Applied Physiology and Nutrition, Teachers College Columbia University, 2008
  • BA, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 2005

CV

PDF icon L_Pope_CV_.pdf

Contact

Email:

efpope@uvm.edu

Phone:
  • 802-656-4262
Office Location:

254 MLS Carrigan Wing

Office Hours:

by appointment

Website(s):
  1. Weight Inclusive Nutrition Research Group

Courses Taught