Stacey Zawacki

Stacey Zawacki is the Director of the Boston University Sargent Choice Nutrition Center (SCNC) and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Health Sciences department at Boston University’s College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College. She is a licensed, registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) with a Master’s degree in Exercise Science from Sargent College and a Doctoral degree in Public Health from Boston University’s School of Public Health. Dr. Zawacki founded the SCNC and the Sargent Choice Healthy Food and Education program in 2004.

Dr. Zawacki’s academic training in nutrition and exercise science, and clinical experience as an RDN, provided her with an excellent background in evidence-based, cardiovascular risk factor reduction approaches for diverse populations. Her doctoral training in public health solidified her skillset for large-scale community needs assessment, intervention design, and program evaluation. Under Dr. Zawacki’s leadership, the SCNC team of RDNs provides comprehensive, multi-level nutrition services to Boston University and the greater Boston communities. In addition to the spectrum of weight-related health conditions, SCNC RDNs specialize in gastrointestinal disorders and related therapeutic diets, eating disorders, and performance nutrition.

Dr. Zawacki enjoys mentoring and teaching Boston University students. She developed two courses for undergraduate nutrition students: HS 395 – Food, Supplements, and Consumer Health; and HS 396 – Dietary Interventions and Public Health. The varied activities of the SCNC provide rich learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate nutrition students.

Dr. Zawacki has collaborated with interdisciplinary colleagues at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the University of Massachusetts Children’s Medical Center to support behavior change. At Boston University, she has worked as a co-investigator, designing and implementing nutrition interventions, including an intensive, community-based intervention program for persons post-stroke; and a NIH/NINR R01 randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of a home-based exercise program with cognitive and behavioral reinforcement in post-rehabilitation hip fracture patients. Currently, she is collaborating with colleagues at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Dartmouth College to adapt evidence-based health promotion approaches for people with serious mental illness. She also serves as a faculty lead on a five-year HRSA training grant designed to inspire and prepare physician assistant and medical students, social work and dietetic interns, family medicine residents, and faculty to work collaboratively in interprofessional teams to serve underserved populations and to develop, test, and disseminate innovations in the patient-centered medical home.