Distinguished Alumnus
Dr. Michelle Barrack Gardner is an Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at California State University, Long Beach, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) specializing in nutrition for high school and collegiate cross-country and track & field runners. She has researched and published extensively on factors increasing the risk of low bone mineral density and bone stress injury in runners. Currently, Dr. Barrack is collaborating with sports medicine physicians at UCLA and Stanford University to evaluate the efficacy of nutrition education intervention, including a smart-phone application, “Run Fueled,” aimed at optimizing nutrient intake, health, and reducing bone stress injury risk among elite collegiate runners. She also has experience evaluating dietary supplement use among NCAA collegiate athletes and distance runners.
Dr. Barrack is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), and Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitian Association (CPSDA). She serves as Sports Editor, for PULSE, a publication of the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutritionist’s (SCAN) Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Dr. Barrack earned a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biology from the University of California, Davis, M.S. in Exercise Physiology from San Diego State University, and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Barrack largely credits the opportunities and mentoring she received from various faculty at SDSU, including Dr. Jeanne Nichols, Dr. Mark Kern, Dr. Mike Buono, Dr. Fred Kolkhorst, among others, to her passion in research, exercise science, and nutrition.
