November 6, 2017 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu
Brie Turner-McGrievy, associate professor of health promotion, education, and behavior (HPEB), has received the Excellence in Weight Management Outcomes Research Award from the Weight Management dietetic practice group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which supports the professional practice of preventing and treating overweight status and obesity. She was honored with this award at a ceremony held during the 2017 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in Chicago.
“This recognition is one of our highest honors acknowledging an individual member for outstanding substantial research contributions that ultimately improve our understanding of weight management and influence the future direction of weight management practice,” says Anne Mathews, nominating director for the Weight Management Dietetic Practice Group. “We unanimously are proud of Dr. Turner-McGrievy’s work and accomplishments!”
Turner-McGrievy’s research focuses on developing ways to help people eat healthier, lose weight and prevent chronic disease—often using emerging technologies, such as social media support, podcasts, and nutrition/physical activity trackers, as tools. Her background includes professional experience as a registered dietitian followed by a Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a postdoctoral fellowship at the same institution’s Obesity Center.
In 2011, Turner-McGrievy joined the Arnold School of Public Health and established the Behavioral Research in Eating (BRIE) Lab, where she conducts scientific studies using innovative approaches to improve health and nutrition at the population level. For example, she recently completed three randomized trials investigating plant-based eating styles. The BRIE Lab is also where Turner-McGrievy’s graduate students gain hands-on experience from their devoted mentor.
Her contributions were recognized in 2016 when Turner-McGrievy received the Early Career Investigator Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. As a reflection of her commitment to including her graduate students in her research and guiding them in their development as future scientists, Turner-McGrievy also won the Society’s Early Career Mentorship Award. Earlier this year, she received the International Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Best e-/m-health Oral Presentation Award.
Meanwhile, Turner-McGrievy’s research program continues to grow. Most recently, she received a $3.3 million R01 grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to research nutrition-based approaches to reducing heart disease among overweight African Americans in an effort to address cardiovascular disease in this population.
Just six years after accepting her first academic appointment, Turner-McGrievy is quickly leaving the early career stage and fast becoming a recognized authority in the field. This fall, she served as a panelist in NIH’s National Institute on Aging’s Nutrition Intervention Workshop—an honor usually reserved for researchers who have been working in the field for a decade or more—to explore research needs and opportunities related to nutritional interventions. Shortly after receiving her Weight Management Research Outcomes Award, Turner-MGrievy gave an invited presentation on calorie tracking devices at Obesity Week 2017 in Washington D.C.
“Dr. Turner-McGrievy has quickly become an influential scholar who is known for her innovative research in nutrition interventions that use e-/m-health strategies,” says HPEB chair Daniela Friedman. “This award is a much deserved honor which will be one of many for her.”
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