Evidence-based Nutrition Education and Research Guidance (ENER-G)

R25 ENER-G Summary/Abstract
There is a pressing need for nutrition-focused, methodologically sound, Evidence-Based Health
Care (EBHC) skills training across the field of nutrition including the clinical interface. Emerging
evidence points to largely low-quality systematic reviews informing clinical practice and policy in
nutrition. While numerous successful models of EBHC skills training exist for physicians, these
programs are not sufficient for nutrition trainees. Modified trainings are needed due to the sheer
number of nutrition trainees and the unique challenges within nutrition such as limited
randomized controlled trial data, observational study confounding, and the challenges of dose-
response meta-analyses, dietary recall, adherence and quality among other issues. We’ve
assembled a strong leadership team located on the East Coast, West Coast, and in the South,
with a distinct portfolio of research, teaching and administrative skills to collaborate on this
initiative entitled Evidence-based Nutrition Education and Research Guidance (ENER-G). Our
overall objective is to implement, evaluate, and disseminate rigorous, nutrition-focused, EBHC
training and research experiences for both conventional and integrative nutritional
science trainees and professionals. In order to meet our objective, we have developed three
specific aims.
Aim 1: Deliver a nutrition-focused systematic review and meta-analysis course with a built-in
mentored research experience (from initiation to publication);
Aim 2. Deliver nutrition-focused skills training workshops in EBHC principles and practice;
Aim 3. Deliver a semi-annual seminar series on the Nutrition Evidence Lifecycle addressing
epistemological issues and relevant topics in translational nutrition research.
We propose a 5-year program addressing the need for rigorous, innovative training in
systematic reviews and EBHC skills. This will be accomplished through courses, mentored
research experiences, workshops, and seminars across three primary, well-established, diverse
nutrition institutions and two additional prominent nutrition programs. We will further extend this
training to nutrition professionals and educators through continuing education and the SNAP-Ed
program. In so doing the ENER-G project will lead to much needed research and EBHC skills
sensitive to the Evidence Lifecycle. In total, ENER-G will train a large cohort of the next
generation of nutrition professionals and researchers (up to 1750 individuals over 5 years),
leading to a broad impact that supports patients and the strategic initiatives of the NIDDK.