Roxanne Laughlin is a Foods and Nutrition major at UPEI, and was born and raised on Toronto, Ontario. She is one of 26 science students at UPEI who were awarded an Undergraduate Summer Research Award (USRA) from NSERC (the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) for 2008. Roxanne's research project, Studying the health benefits of cranberries against chronic diseases, was supervised by Dr. Kathy Gottschall-Pass, Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Family and Nutritional Sciences.

For more information: www.upei.ca/studentresearch/nserc/roxanne-laughlin

Roxanne Laughlin, a Foods and Nutrition honours student in the UPEI Faculty of Science, has won a national award for her passion and commitment to research. The Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research presented her with the Morgan medal during the Dietitians of Canada national conference in Charlottetown.

For more information: www.upei.ca/news/media/2009/06/16/upei-student-wins-national-morgan-meda...

Established in 2000, the UPEI Integrated Dietetic Internship is an innovative and progressive program. Students who qualify for this program have the opportunity to complete both the BSc in Foods and Nutrition and the Dietetic Internship in just four-and-a-half years.

The objectives of the program are a) to enhance teaching and the learning experience of participating student interns through the integration of theory and practice in nutrition and dietetics, and b) to provide dietetic interns with opportunities to develop the skills needed to achieve the competence of an entry-level dietitian, as defined by Dietitians of Canada.

The program includes three levels of non-classroom learning experiences, which vary between 36 and 42 weeks, depending on student learning needs and placement availabilities.

For more information:...

Students work with family-related professionals in these organizations as part of their professional practice course. The field placements give students many opportunities to integrate theory with practice in a supportive setting. Students’ tasks mirror those of the family professionals who serve as field placement supervisors to the students. Since this program began, 48 various organizations have hosted students from the Family Science and Child and Family Studies Programs.

Third-year students volunteer for a total of 32 hours during the fall semester. Fourth-year students require a total of 80 hours per semester in both the fall and winter semesters.

This ongoing research involves the assessment of disease status and quality of life of 2,000 people in PEI. Evidence exists for the economic savings that occur with increased diagnosis of celiac disease, a condition that can remain symptomless for decades.