1) Essential Principles of Medicine

• The Metabolism and Nutrition unit is a 3‑week component of the Essential Principles of Medicine course focused on how the body processes carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleotides to generate, store, and regulate energy. Students learn core biochemical pathways—including glycolysis, the TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, lipid and amino acid metabolism—and how these pathways are integrated across organs and regulated by hormones such as insulin and glucagon. The curriculum emphasizes both anabolic and catabolic processes, enzyme kinetics and regulation, mitochondrial function, and key micronutrients (e.g., vitamins, trace metals), linking foundational biochemistry to physiological energy balance and homeostasis. The course also connects metabolism to clinical medicine, highlighting diseases caused by dysregulation such as diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, inborn errors of metabolism, atherosclerosis, and cancer (e.g., Warburg effect). Learning is structured through lectures, problem sets, and office hours, with two quizzes assessing comprehension of both lecture and problem-based material. By the end of the unit, students are expected to integrate biochemical mechanisms with disease processes and therapeutic approaches, developing a clinically relevant understanding of metabolism and nutrition.

2) Pharmacology Unit

• Drug-nutrient interactions

3) Cells, Tissues and Control Systems Unit

• Pathological states affecting nutrient absorption
• Identifies nutrient deficiencies, recommends foods/supplements
• Evidence-based guidance on healthy beverage consumption

4) Injury, Infection, Immunity and Repair Unit

• Difference between food allergies and intolerance including gluten
• Microbiome-immune crosstalk: understand fiber fermentation producing butyrate for gut integrity and how ultra-processed diets cause dysbiosis

1) Cardiology

• Principles of healthy balanced diet per national guidelines

2) Gastrointestinal

• Functions of essential nutrients
• Micronutrient cofactors in enzymatic function: master how vitamins and minerals drive reactions and how deficiencies undermine function
• Hormonal regulation through food composition: understand how meal composition affects GLP-1, CCK, PYY, leptin and insulin signaling
• Microbiome-immune crosstalk: understand fiber fermentation producing butyrate for gut integrity and how ultra-processed diets cause dysbiosis

3) Renal

• Principles of healthy balanced diet per national guidelines

4) Endocrine

• Drug-nutrient interactions
• Functions of essential nutrients
• Identifies nutrient deficiencies, recommends foods/supplements
• Interprets nutrition labels and menu labeling
• Nutritional content of foods, macronutrients and micronutrients
• Pathological states affecting nutrient absorption
• Principles of healthy balanced diet per national guidelines
• Chronobiology and circadian nutrition: understand how meal timing affects nutrient absorption, hormonal rhythms, and metabolic efficiency

5) Hematology / Oncology

• Nutritional content of foods, macronutrients and micronutrients
• Pathological states affecting nutrient absorption
• Nutritional content of foods, macronutrients and micronutrients

6) Dermatology

• Pathological states affecting nutrient absorption
• Identifies nutrient deficiencies, recommends foods/supplements
• Difference between food allergies and intolerance including gluten

7) Brain and Behavior

• Micronutrient cofactors in enzymatic function: master how vitamins and minerals drive reactions and how deficiencies undermine function
• Cognitive and behavioral nutrition: apply mindful eating practices that enhance hormonal signaling and reduce reward-driven eating

1) Critical Care Medicine

• Pathological states affecting nutrient absorption

2) Medicine

• Nutritional content of foods, macronutrients and micronutrients
• Pathological states affecting nutrient absorption
• Identifies nutrient deficiencies, recommends foods/supplements
• Nutritional differences: minimally processed vs highly processed foods
• Principles of healthy balanced diet per national guidelines
• Structural components from food: recognize how dietary amino acids, essential fatty acids, and cholesterol build proteins, membranes and hormones
• Micronutrient cofactors in enzymatic function: master how vitamins and minerals drive reactions and how deficiencies undermine function

3) Neurology

• Identifies nutrient deficiencies, recommends foods/supplements

4) Obstetrics and Gynecology

• Pathological states affecting nutrient absorption
• Identifies nutrient deficiencies, recommends foods/supplements
• Energy and nutrient requirements across lifespan
• Drug-nutrient interactions
• Nutritional differences: minimally processed vs highly processed foods
• Interprets nutrition labels and menu labeling
• Functions of essential nutrients
• Principles of healthy balanced diet per national guidelines
• Evidence-based guidance on healthy beverage consumption

1) Health Policy

• Identifies nutrient deficiencies, recommends foods/supplements
• Principles of healthy balanced diet per national guidelines

2) Surgery Sub-Internship

• Nutritional content of foods, macronutrients and micronutrients
• Pathological states affecting nutrient absorption

3) Area of Concentration

4) Electives

Neoplasia

• Assesses nutritional status by integrating dietary history, clinical measurements (height, weight, BMI, skeletal muscle mass, visceral fat), and laboratory findings

Endocrine

• Assesses nutritional status by integrating dietary history, clinical measurements (height, weight, BMI, skeletal muscle mass, visceral fat), and laboratory findings
• Personalized metabolic biomarker interpretation: using fasting insulin levels, oral glucose tolerance testing (OGGT), HOMA-IR, TG:HDL ratio, advanced lipid panels, omega-3 index and vitamin D to guide interventions
• Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) interpretation: analyze CGM data patterns to identify glycemic variability and guide dietary modifications and different use cases for specific populations, including diabetic patients

1) Medicine

• Within the medicine clerkship, all students experience and conduct nutrition assessments in adults, including screening for conditions related to malnutrition and their management, and learn about and apply therapeutic diets. Students encounter virtual and actual patient-based scenarios that illustrate specific nutritional challenges in certain patient groups. All students also spend a day with a registered dietician, where they learn how to nutritional status by integrating dietary history, clinical measurements (height, weight, BMI, skeletal muscle mass, visceral fat), and laboratory findings, perform a comprehensive nutrition-focused physical examination, interpret exam data and biomarkers for malnutrition risk and recognize early warning signs of malnutrition. 

2) Obstetrics-Gynecology 

• Personalized metabolic biomarker interpretation: using fasting insulin levels, oral glucose tolerance testing (OGGT), HOMA-IR, TG:HDL ratio, advanced lipid panels, omega-3 index and vitamin D to guide interventions
• Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) interpretation: analyze CGM data patterns to identify glycemic variability and guide dietary modifications and different use cases for specific populations, including diabetic patients

1) Health Policy

• Interprets exam data and biomarkers for malnutrition risk

2) Surgery Sub-Internship 

• Assesses nutritional status by integrating dietary history, clinical measurements (height, weight, BMI, skeletal muscle mass, visceral fat), and laboratory findings

3) Area of Concentration 

4) Electives

1) Neoplasia

• Guides patients on lifelong dietary patterns for chronic disease

2) Patient Care and Physicianship

• Integrates evidence-based nutrition information into patient care

1) Cardiology

• Integrates evidence-based nutrition information into patient care

2) Endocrine Unit

• Using our MedSimAI platform, developed by Cornell University scholars and faculty, students practice performing dietary assessment and counseling using non-stigmatizing and patient-focused language using an AI-powered avatar. Students have the opportunity to  integrate evidence-based nutrition information into patient care, guide the avatar on lifelong dietary patterns for chronic disease, suggest maintenance strategies such as food journaling and biomarker monitoring and collaborative goal setting. 

3) Musculoskeletal / Rheumatology

• Integrates evidence-based nutrition information into patient care

4) Patient Care and Physicianship

• Uses behavior change models to counsel patients
• Guides patients on lifelong dietary patterns for chronic disease
• Brief counseling for visceral adiposity/metabolic syndrome
• Food journaling guidance: teach patients to maintain detailed food journals for pattern identification and accountability

1) Ambulatory Care

• Uses behavior change models to counsel patients
• Guides patients on lifelong dietary patterns for chronic disease
• Brief counseling for visceral adiposity/metabolic syndrome
• Motivational interviewing for nutrition change: apply structured interviewing techniques to enhance autonomy and sustainable behavior change

2) Medicine

• Integrates evidence-based nutrition information into patient care

3) Obstetrics - Gynecology

• Integrates evidence-based nutrition information into patient care
• Uses behavior change models to counsel patients
• Guides patients on lifelong dietary patterns for chronic disease
• Motivational interviewing for nutrition change: apply structured interviewing techniques to enhance autonomy and sustainable behavior change"
• Mindfulness-based eating interventions: implement eating awareness training to improve hormonal signaling

1) Surgery Sub-Internship 

• Guides patients on lifelong dietary patterns for chronic disease

2) Health Policy

• Uses behavior change models to counsel patients

3) Area of Concentration 

4) Electives

• Works with other health professionals for multidisciplinary nutrition care
• Digital health technology integration: understand and recommend evidence-based wearables and platforms supporting nutrition outcomes

1) Medicine

• Students on their Medicine clerkship spend a day working with and co-learning with a dietetics intern, where they experience and conduct nutrition assessments in adults, including screening for conditions related to malnutrition and their management, and learn about and apply therapeutic diets. Students see multidisciplinary nutrition care first hand, participate in nutrition consultations and shadow practitioners implementing food-first interventions.

2) Obstetrics - Gynecology

• Works with other health professionals for multidisciplinary nutrition care
• Makes appropriate referrals to support patient health goals
• Health coach and functional nutritionist collaboration: effectively co-manage patients with non-physician experts

1) Surgery Sub-Internship 

• Works with other health professionals for multidisciplinary nutrition care
• Makes appropriate referrals to support patient health goals

2) Area of Concentration 

3) Electives

Medicine

• Screens for food/nutrition needs and patients’ ability to obtain sufficient nutrition, makes appropriate referrals

Health Policy

• The Health Policy course is a 2-week curriculum that highlights how health outcomes are shaped by structural factors—such as economic inequality, housing, and systemic racism—that also strongly influence nutrition and food access. The course underscores how public policies governing food systems, health care financing, and social safety net programs can either alleviate or exacerbate food insecurity and health disparities. Through case-based learning and discussions, students explore how structural vulnerability appears in clinical care, including situations where patients’ dietary choices may be constrained by cost, availability, or policy-driven barriers. The curriculum also positions physicians as advocates who can address upstream drivers of nutrition inequities. By engaging with community experts and reflecting on clinical experiences, students learn to connect individual patient encounters to health policy contexts. This approach fosters empathy, reduces stigma, and reframes nutrition as a systems-level equity issue rather than solely an individual responsibility, equipping future physicians to advocate for more just and accessible food environments.

Endocrine

• Personalized meal planning from clinical data: develop meal plans tailored to patient clinical history, biomarkers, and circumstances

1) Medicine          

• Personalized meal planning from clinical data: develop meal plans tailored to patient clinical history, biomarkers, and circumstances

2) Obstetrics - Gynecology

• Nutrient-preserving cooking techniques: master methods enhancing bioavailability through soaking, sprouting, fermenting

1) Harlem Grown Farm to Table

• A project partly funded by the Engaged Opportunity Grant from the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, the project provided the opportunity for students to participate in academic community partnerships, urban gardening, experiential learning and culinary medicine. 

2) Electives

• Creates culinary nutrition SMART goals for personal use and patient care
• Nutrient-preserving cooking techniques: master methods enhancing bioavailability through soaking, sprouting, fermenting
• Personalized meal planning from clinical data: develop meal plans tailored to patient clinical history, biomarkers, and circumstances
• Anti-inflammatory meal preparation: prepare minimally processed, whole-food meals emphasizing nutrient density
• Teaching kitchen learning laboratory: participate in multidisciplinary nutrition learning through hands-on cooking

1) Pharmacology

• Disease-specific nutritional reversal protocols: implement evidence-based dietary strategies as first-line interventions for metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, and polycystic ovarian syndrome; identify patients benefiting from low carbohydrate approaches through metabolic biomarkers, insulin resistance indicators, and response patterns.

2) Injury, Infection, Immunity and Repair

• Nutraceutical and anti-inflammatory nutrition interventions: apply evidence-based nutraceuticals (omega-3 fatty acids, plant sterols, fiber, polyphenols) and anti inflammatory dietary patterns as initial interventions to manage dyslipidemia, reduce systemic inflammation, and treat inflammatory conditions.

3) Neoplasia

• GLP-1 agonists counseling with diet and lifestyle guidance
• Disease-specific nutritional reversal protocols: implement evidence-based dietary strategies as first-line interventions for metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, and polycystic ovarian syndrome; identify patients benefiting from low carbohydrate approaches through metabolic biomarkers, insulin resistance indicators, and response patterns.
• Medication-nutrition synergy: guide patients combining medications, surgery, CGM, wearables with lifestyle practices
• Prioritize food-based medicine as the primary approach to chronic disease prevention and treatment, integrating both clinical interventions and patient self management strategies

1) Cardiology

• Nutraceutical and anti-inflammatory nutrition interventions: apply evidence-based nutraceuticals (omega-3 fatty acids, plant sterols, fiber, polyphenols) and anti inflammatory dietary patterns as initial interventions to manage dyslipidemia, reduce systemic inflammation, and treat inflammatory conditions.
• Disease-specific nutritional reversal protocols: implement evidence-based dietary strategies as first-line interventions for metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, and polycystic ovarian syndrome; identify patients benefiting from low carbohydrate approaches through metabolic biomarkers, insulin resistance indicators, and response patterns.
• Prioritize food-based medicine as the primary approach to chronic disease prevention and treatment, integrating both clinical interventions and patient self management strategies

2) Endocrine

• GLP-1 agonists counseling with diet and lifestyle guidance
• Disease-specific nutritional reversal protocols: implement evidence-based dietary strategies as first-line interventions for metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, and polycystic ovarian syndrome; identify patients benefiting from low carbohydrate approaches through metabolic biomarkers, insulin resistance indicators, and response patterns.
• Medication-nutrition synergy: guide patients combining medications, surgery, CGM, wearables with lifestyle practices
• Prioritize food-based medicine as the primary approach to chronic disease prevention and treatment, integrating both clinical interventions and patient self management strategies

1) Ambulatory Care

• Students practice their skills in motivational interviewing, and the use of diet and lifestyle guidance to manage obesity and blood pressure in standardized patients. Students also participate in a wide variety of chronic disease prevention and management, including the use of GLP-1 agonists, food-based medicine and lifestyle modification.

2) Medicine

• Disease-specific nutritional reversal protocols: implement evidence-based dietary strategies as first-line interventions for metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, and polycystic ovarian syndrome; identify patients benefiting from low carbohydrate approaches through metabolic biomarkers, insulin resistance indicators, and response patterns.

3) Obstetrics - Gynecology

• Responsible use of AI for nutrition advice
• Medication-nutrition synergy: guide patients combining medications, surgery, CGM, wearables with lifestyle practices

1) Area of Concentration

2) Sub-Internships

3) Electives

Endocrine

• Identifies factors affecting personal health and nutrition status
• Longitudinal biomarker monitoring: track patient progress through iterative laboratory testing and protocol refinement

1) Ambulatory Care

• Longitudinal biomarker monitoring: track patient progress through iterative laboratory testing and protocol refinement
• Identifies factors affecting personal health and nutrition status

2) Medicine

• Disease-specific nutritional reversal protocols: implement evidence-based dietary strategies as first-line interventions for metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, and polycystic ovarian syndrome; identify patients benefiting from low carbohydrate approaches through metabolic biomarkers, insulin resistance indicators, and response patterns.

3) Obstetrics - Gynecology

• Longitudinal biomarker monitoring: track patient progress through iterative laboratory testing and protocol refinement

Endocrine

• Recognizes and promotes healthy food environments in healthcare delivery settings

1) Medicine 

• Recognizes and promotes healthy food environments in healthcare delivery settings

2) Obstetrics - Gynecology

• Food quality determinants: evaluate nutrient density, chemical residue contamination, and additives as clinical impact elements

1) Health Policy

• Recognizes and promotes healthy food environments in healthcare delivery settings

2) Area of Concentration

Medicine

• During their Interprofessional Education component, students on their co-learning rounds with dietetics interns will be exposed to practical aspects of dietetics practice, including billing for nutrition services.