Judith Anglin’s career in Nutrition is an impressive list of accomplishments that include life-changing nutrition research, preventative medicine, food product development as well as advocating to members of Congress to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes.
Anglin's ambitions started early when she graduated from high school in Jamaica at 16 and applied to her local college. She chose Dietetics because the brochure advertising the program stated that “only strong chemistry students will be considered.” She thought she’d be a good fit, though when she received her acceptance letter, she was skeptical that it was real because she thought the college must have an age threshold. But once her acceptance was verified, she was excited to begin her educational journey in the field she loves. After graduating, she worked first in preventive care in a hospital setting before moving into the food industry, creating products and providing nutritional and health information for the marketing of consumer products.
To take her career to the next level, she pursued first her Registered Dietitian Nutritionist credentialing and then a master’s at Howard University. During graduate school, while participating in a USDA Summer Institute, she was presented with an opportunity to apply her knowledge of nutrition to help the US military. It was during the Iraq War, and the US military was using Sand Rats for night vision reconnaissance research. The sand rats are an ideal animal model as they developed diabetes and all the complications of the disease, including cataracts, when fed the standard lab diet. The challenge was to maintain a control group. Judith successfully developed a formula of high fiber and moderate protein for the lab pellets. The pellets had high acceptability and palpability while preventing obesity and the onset of diabetes by maintaining normal blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Her doctoral work, also at Howard University, focused on nutrition-related sickle cell research.
Since 2008, she has worked in higher education in various roles as a program administrator and academic chair. Her most recent roles were Chair of the Department of Health, Nursing, and Nutrition at the University of the District of Columbia and Interim Graduate Program Director in the Nutrition and Dietetics Program.
Anglin has a big vision for the NFS department she is now helming, “We are in a field where there is such a demand, and more research is being done that shows the connection between health and nutrition. This really creates a demand for trained professionals. The downside of this increased demand is that it draws individuals who are practicing what I call ‘pseudoscience’. But here at UVM we are experts, and this department is uniquely positioned. My vision is to create new programs that will satisfy and meet the new demands of the field. I am carefully exploring how we can pull all this together for teaching and research purposes, as well as foster the next generation of leaders for the future. There is a real demand for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists. Currently only about 3000 newly credentialed Registered Dietitians Nutritionists are trained every year, but the need is for over 5000. I'm also looking at the expansion of the food science program because there is an additional demand for food scientists, and not just for the traditional food scientists, but for food scientists who understand the science of nutrition and how these products that they're developing can impact one's life. I want UVM NFS program graduates to be creators of the science, not just the users of the science, and we are perfectly positioned to do that.”
An emerging trend Anglin sees within nutrition programs is that more students are pursuing medicine as a career. “More medical schools are now realizing and embracing the importance of nutrition for health and wellness. When students come in with an undergraduate degree in nutrition, they have an advantage in being accepted into medical school.”
The utilization of technology is also changing the field rapidly leading to improved patient care, research, teaching, and clinical training. “One of the major changes has been the increased use of integrative technology and high-fidelity mannequins for simulated practice. These allow students to problem-solve and practice treatment through mock patient scenarios. Which is a good way to get students out there to start practicing and getting comfortable with working one-on-one with patients.”
She has other dreams of expanding all the graduate programs, providing multiple pathways to credentialing, and expanding the course content with more internship opportunities, more focus on sustainability, and greater involvement with new initiatives and programs such as CALS’s Climate Kitchen, the Food Systems Research Center, and the animal science programs.
“Nutrition is critical to our quality of life. So even if you are not interested in a career in nutrition, but rather want the knowledge for your own well-being, it's an important tool for you to use, and also to understand when you need to consult a professional for scientific information and treatment to maintain health, prevent and treat diseases. . It’s the only discipline that directly touches everyone on the planet, right? We all eat.”