Dr. Wetherill is an Associate Professor of Health Promotion Sciences at the Hudson College of Public Health (Tulsa campus). She is jointly appointed in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the OU-TU School of Community Medicine. She is also a Henry Zarrow Presidential Professor and the George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair in Population Healthcare. Dr. Wetherill has additional adjunct appointments in the OUHSC Department of Nutritional Sciences and OU School of Social Work due to the interdisciplinary nature of her research. She is a native Oklahoman who previously worked in the community setting as an administrator, developer, and evaluator for nutrition-related programs for patients living with chronic disease. Her research focuses on building healthy food access for people and communities affected by health disparities. Through her research, she has worked with various types of community partners, including food banks, social service organizations, medical clinics, and tribal communities, to identify feasible and sustainable strategies for improving the nutritional status of underserved populations. Her teaching emphasizes the application of lifestyle medicine as an interprofessional discipline and nutrition research methods.
Dr. Wetherill is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian who is board certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. 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 and a passion for improving health outcomes among low-income populations and other vulnerable groups. She is a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine, Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine practice group, the American Society for Nutrition, and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
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 Research Projects:
Nutrition to Optimize, Understand, and Restore Insulin Sensitivity in HIV for Oklahoma (NOURISH-OK)
Dates: 09/17/2020 – 08/31/2025
Sponsor: NIDDK | 1R01DK127464-01
Role: Principal Investigator
In the News:
- Tulsa Researcher Receives Federal Grant to Study Food as Medicine Intervention for People with HIV College of Medicine Magazine | Spring 2021
- Tulsa CARES Partners with University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center for New Food as Medicine Study to Address Food Insecurity and other Root Causes of Insulin Resistance in HIV/AIDS Press Release
- Researcher Studying the possibility of food being used as medicine for those with AIDS News Segment
Healthy Lifestyles, Healthy Communities
Dates: 11/1/2017-10/31/2022
Sponsors: Ardmore Institute of Health, Hille Family Foundation, Oxley Foundation, OU Foundation
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
In the News:
Food as Medicine: Building Nutrition Equity for Iron Gate Guests
Sponsor: Morningcrest (sub-award)
Dates: 09/01/2020-08/31/2021
Role: Principal Investigator
In the News:
- Iron Gate Awarded "Food as Medicine" Grant to Promote Nutrition Equity for Those Affected by Homelessness Press Release
Veggies for Life: Evaluation of a Culinary Medicine Workshop Series for Individuals with Physical Challenges
Sponsor: Internally Sponsored / Schweitzer Fellowship.
Dates: 08/01/2020-05/31/2021
Role: Principal Investigator and Faculty Advisor
In the News:
The Produce Drop
Sponsor: College of Medicine Alumni Association
Dates: 07/01/2019-05/30/2021
Role: Principal Investigator
In the News:
Food Independence, Security, and Health (FISH) Project: Phase II
Sponsor: Center for Integrated Research on Childhood Adversity
Dates: 05/01/18-04/30/19
Role: Pilot Project PI
Food Resource Equity and Sustainability for Health “FRESH”
Sponsor: NIHMD | R01 MD011266 (PI: Jernigan)
Dates: 05/12/2016-12/31/2020
Role: Co-Investigator
Food banking Research to Enhance the Spread of Healthy Foods “FRESH-Foods”
Sponsor: CDC | 3U48DP004998-01S1 (Project PI: Seligman)
Dates: 9/30/2015-9/29/2017
Role: Principal Investigator for Aim 1 of Study
Diet Intervention for Hypertension: Adaptation and Dissemination to Native Communities
Sponsor: NIH/NHLBI | R01HL126578-01 (Project PI: Jernigan)
Dates: 9/01/2015 – 5/31/2020
Role: Co-Investigator
Tribal Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments “THRIVE”
Sponsor: NHLBI | R01 HL117729 (PI: Jernigan)
Dates: 8/15/2013 – 3/31/2018
Role: Co-Investigator