Kelsey Rose is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Vermont, where she also serves as the dietetic practicum coordinator. Kelsey has a BA in political science from Ohio University and graduated with a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Michigan. During the period between her undergraduate and graduate degree, she spent time studying food systems, by way of farm-to-school programs, small scale agriculture, and food service management.

Driven by her passion, Kelsey is enthusiastic about facilitating new conversations around health in the field of dietetics by deconstructing norms and traditional ideas of wellness to create a more informed and inclusive educational environment. She aspires to teach from a biopsychosocial approach; one that recognizes the individual biochemical purpose that food plays within the complex psychological and socioecological framework. Moreover, she believes in the importance that dietitians possess a basic understanding of eating disorders and disordered eating to promote comprehensive care and treatment. Her research focuses on the intersection of stigma and health. Specifically, how stereotypes like SWAG (Skinny, White, Affluent, Girl) and general stigmas against eating disorders create health inequities resulting in limited screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Kelsey’s work also explores concepts of body diversity and weight bias beliefs.

Drawn to behavioral health and the complexities of malnutrition, Kelsey’s clinical interests are focused on the field of eating disorders. She also has a special interest in Adolescent Medicine. Kelsey completed her dietetic training in the treatment of eating disorders at Simmons University. Following her training, Kelsey served as a fellow for the Leadership Education in Adolescent Health fellowship program at Boston Children’s Hospital where she worked clinically for the Outpatient Eating Disorder Program and the Strategies for Teen Empowerment and Physical Activity clinic. In her most recent clinical appointment, Kelsey served as the first and only outpatient eating disorder dietitian for the Michigan Medicine system, where she provided counseling for individuals of all ages and educated fellow health care practitioners on weight inclusivity, eating disorders, and disordered eating.

At UVM, Kelsey teaches undergraduate courses in clinical nutrition, food service management, and nutrition throughout the human lifecycle. She provides support to the MS program and serves as a research mentor for the graduate capstone. In the classroom, she utilizes exercises that support a variety of nutrition careers, with a focus on applied learning, such as writing reflections, interactive lectures, case studies and small group discussions.