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Department of Nutritional Sciences

Marianna Wetherill, PhD, MPH, RDN-AP/LD

Marianna Wetherill, PhD, MPH, RDN-AP/LD

  • George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair in Population Healthcare
  • Henry Zarrow Presidential Professor
  • Associate Professor

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Schusterman Center
4502 E. 41st Street, Room 1A11
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135-2512

(918) 660-3684

Marianna-Wetherill@ouhsc.edu


Marianna Wetherill, PhD, MPH, RDN-AP/LD is an Assistant Professor of Health Promotion Sciences at the College of Public Health, OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center.   Dr. Wetherill’s primary research includes the investigation of food insecurity and chronic disease risk as well as the development of interventions to improve nutrition-related health outcomes for food insecure and other vulnerable populations.   She is the Co-PI for the Food Independence, Security, and Health (FISH) Project, a statewide study to identify and prioritize the health needs of Oklahomans accessing food pantry programs.   Other research collaborations include her work as a Co-Investigator for the THRIVE study, where she contributed to the design, implementation, and evaluation of a convenience store intervention to increase vegetable and fruit consumption among tribal members of the Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (NHLBI 5R01HL117729-02, PI: Jernigan, VBB). Dr. Wetherill is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian who holds an Advanced Practice Certification in Clinical Nutrition from the Commission on Dietetics Registration. She has also completed training on Nutrition-Focused Physical Exams from the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. With a decade of dietetics practice experience including HIV/AIDS, cardiometabolic disease, and plant-based diets, Dr. Wetherill’s nutrition philosophy incorporates a functional medicine approach to personal healing, with a passion for serving low-income populations.  Dr. Wetherill regularly guest lectures for the OU-Tulsa School of Community Medicine medical and physician assistant programs on the integration of nutrition therapy into medical practice.  She is a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine, Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine practice group, and the American Society for Nutrition. 


Education:

  • Graduate Certificate, Dietetics & Integrative Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, 2016
  • PhD, Health Promotion Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 2013
  • MPH, Health Administration and Policy, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 2009
  • BS, Nutrition Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 2004


Research Interests:

  • “Food is medicine” interventions for limited-resource populations
  • Charitable food systems and population health
  • Trauma-informed lifestyle medicine
  • Food insecurity and health behaviors
  • Insulin resistance and risk behaviors in HIV
  • Nutrition epidemiologic methods for vulnerable populations


Select Publications:

Link to Dr. Wetherill's current publications