Kathy Prelack
Adjunct Associate Professor
- Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition, Simmons College
I have been a clinical dietitian for over 25 years, serving over 20 years at Shriners Hospitals for Children –Boston with a primary role of Director of Nutrition. I have had research appointments at both Massachusetts Hospital- Department of Surgery as well as Shriners Hospitals for Children Boston. As both clinician and researcher I have an established professional commitment to improving nutritional status and quality of life in recovering burn children. My research focus has traditionally been on energy metabolism and body composition, with particular focus on isotope methodology. I developed a non-invasive measure of intracellular water, a proxy for body cell mass in children using combined measures of sodium bromide and deuterium oxide. In addition, I have applied the doubly labeled water method to better understand energy metabolism in recovering children. I am also trained in body composition analysis including measures of bone mineral density and lean body mass and have studied the effects of nutrition on bone health in various populations including burn patients and elite figure skaters.
Complementary to my duties at Shriners Hospitals for Children, I have spent considerable time abroad leading nutrition education and program development in regions including Dubai UAE, Choma, Zambia, and Beijing China. I have served as a board member for a non-profit agency called HelpMercy in Macha, Zambia helping to develop resources and training for health care workers in Macha Hospital. My experiences globally have prompted me to look at food and agricultural technology as a means of improving nutrition. As I witnessed time and time again, the use of whole food products both in hospital inpatient settings and in the local community (with apparent good results), I developed an interest in the use of functional foods and medical nutrition therapy.
Education
- Ph.D., 2002, Human Nutrition, Friedman School, Tufts University
- M.S., 1993, Dietetics, MGH Institute of Health Professions
- B.S., 1987, General Dietetics/Nutrition Science, Syracuse University