Michele DeBiasse

Michele A. “Shelly” DeBiasse, PhD, RDN

Michele A. “Shelly” DeBiasse, PhD, RDN (she/they) is Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences/Programs in Nutrition in the College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College, Affiliated Faculty in the Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies program and the Center for Innovation in Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Affiliated Faculty and Researcher with the Center for Antiracist Research, Boston University (BU), Boston, MA.

Shelly received her MS in Clinical Nutrition from Rush University and completed her dietetic internship at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, both in Chicago, IL.  Following earning her dietetics registration, she worked in the clinical acute care setting at various teaching hospitals for over 20 years, as a member of the critical care team and nutrition support services. In 2003, Shelly became a member of the adjunct faculty in the nutrition programs at BU. In 2008, Shelly was appointed as a full-time Clinical Assistant Professor at BU and was promoted in 2016 to Clinical Associate Professor (2020).  In 2016 her PhD in Nutrition & Metabolism was awarded by the department of Graduate Medical Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.

As Director and Principal Investigator of BU/Sargent College’s Social Justice in Health Care Professions Lab, Shelly’s research centers issues related to equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice in healthcare and healthcare professions (particularly dietetics), how gender may contribute to challenges often associated with female-dominated healthcare professions, and critical feminist perspectives of food, nutrition, eating, and bodies. She currently teaches several courses in the undergraduate and graduate programs in nutrition including Introduction to Nutrition, Medical Nutrition Therapy I, and co-developed and co-taught the course Gender and Healthcare with Prof. Bria Dunham.