Tulane University
IN-4: Innovation 4

The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University is the first dedicated teaching kitchen to be implemented at a medical school.The center provides hands-on training for medical students through culinary medicine classes in the form of electives and seminars as well as continuing education for the healthcare and foodservice industries. The rising global medical care costs of chronic disease management intensifies the importance of GCCM’s rigorous research into intervention outcomes underlying the evidence-based foundation of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine. Mentorship is key to our research team ranging across 12 medical schools and universities nationally that actively disseminates novel findings at international meetings and academic journals on our pioneering clinical nutrition curriculum, translated into student-led community interventions. The team is dedicated to producing continuous evidence-based curriculum improvements for Tulane’s Goldring Center as a model for medical schools globally, serving their communities locally. Community members are invited to submit research topics they would like the Goldring research team to explore. Active projects include: •Randomized controlled trials in health outcome monitoring with nutrition interventions for disease management •Validation of integrative clinical nutrition curriculum, guided by physicians, chefs, and community partners •Recipe optimizations for health with flavor preservation •USDA nutritional guideline monitoring •International trials monitoring applications of global health nutrition guidelines Medical students volunteer at the center's adult and child community cooking classes and teach participants cooking techniques as well as nutrition and general tips on healthier eating. In addition, students participate in community events including health fairs with such partnering organizations as the American Diabetes Association. During these events, nutrition information is provided, food demonstrations often performed and counseling is offered, as well as conducting readings of Body Mass Index, blood pressure and blood glucose.

The Culinary Medicine curriculum has already been licensed by eight other medical schools.