https://healthpromotionresearch.org/Faculty Parent Page: Faculty id: 27768 Active Page: detailsid:27766
Marianna Wetherill, PhD, MPH, RDN/LD, DipACLM

Marianna Wetherill, PhD, MPH, RDN/LD, DipACLM

Associate Professor, Departments of Health Promotion Sciences and Family and Community Medicine; George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair in Population Healthcare; Anne & Henry Zarrow Presidential Professor

Marianna-Wetherill@ouhsc.edu

Dr. Wetherill’s research involves community-based collaborations with food banks, social service organizations, medical clinics, and tribal communities to develop and implement “food is medicine” (FIM) interventions for diverse populations affected by nutrition inequities. As a registered dietitian and population health interventionist with over 20 years’ experience in community-based nutrition, her work examines the influence of nutrition insecurity on personal dimensions of wellbeing, self-care, and health risk behaviors. Her current research includes two NIH-funded FIM research studies that aim to evaluate the impact of trauma-informed, medically-tailored food assistance interventions for people living with HIV and for Indigenous people who are pregnant. The goals of her work are to elucidate the nutritional and non-nutritional risk mechanisms linking nutrition insecurity and various health outcomes and to support the translation of these findings into clinic and community-based FIM programs.

Dr. Wetherill is the lead dietitian for the OU Culinary Medicine Program, program director for the OU Food First Pharmacy, and is a founding course director for three lifestyle medicine classes required for medical and physician assistant students at the OU-TU School of Community Medicine. She additionally collaborates with Hunger Free Oklahoma to provide evaluation and consultation support for the Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) program and its DUO for Health initiative, as well as with the Sunflower Foundation (Kansas) as a lead evaluator and advisor for its Food is Medicine Initiative.  During 2020-2021, she served on the advisory board as a contributor to the Food & Society at the Aspen Institute’s Food is Medicine Research Action Plan.

Education:

Degree-Granting Institutions

  • University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, BS Nutritional Sciences, 2004
  • University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, MPH Health Administration and Policy, 2009
  • University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, PhD Health Promotion Sciences, 2013
  • University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, MO, Graduate Certificate, Dietetics and Integrative Medicine, 2016

Postgraduate Training

  • American Psychological Association, Post-doctoral research fellowship, HIV/AIDS racial disparities (NIMH-funded), 2015-2017
  • Imperial College of London, London, England, International course in nutritional epidemiology, 2016

Funding:

Nutrition to Optimize, Understand, and Restore Insulin Sensitivity in HIV for Oklahoma (NOURISH-OK)
R01DK127464 (NIDDK)
PI: Wetherill
Community Research Partner: Tulsa CARES
09/17/2020 – 08/31/2025
Direct Costs: $1,800,000
Integrated model development and food is medicine intervention testing to reduce chronic inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity among Oklahoma adults living with HIV and food insecurity.

Center for Indigenous Resilience, Culture, and Maternal Health Equity (CIRCLE)  
Sub-Project: Food for Lifecourse Equity in Maternal Security and Health (FLOURISH) Study
U54HD113173 (NICHD)
CIRCLE MPIs: MPIs: Shreffler (Contact)/Friedman/Spicer VanWagoner; FLOURISH RPLs: Jones/Wetherill)
Community Research Partner: Southern Plains Tribal Health Board
8/17/2023 – 7/31/2030
Direct Costs: $10,448,621
As a sponsored R01-equivalent study through the Center for Indigenous Resilience, Culture, and Maternal Health Equity (CIRCLE), the FLOURISH Study will design and test a food is medicine intervention to reduce maternal morbidity among Indigenous pregnant persons in Oklahoma.

Produce is Vital in Diverse Environments (PROVIDE) – Double Up Oklahoma Health Impact Study
MPIs: Williams/Wetherill
Community Research Partner: Hunger Free Oklahoma
OKDHS (sub-award)
Direct Costs: $1,000,000
8/202377/2026

Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) Statewide Evaluation
MPIs: Williams/Wetherill
Community Research Partner: Hunger Free Oklahoma
USDA (sub-award)
Direct Costs: $1,000,000
Date: 10/2022-9/2026

DUO for Health Initiative
PI: Wetherill
Community Partner: Hunger Free Oklahoma
USDA (sub-award)
Direct Costs: $117,100
10/2022-9/2026

Kansas Food as Medicine Initiative (Implementation Phase Year 2)
Role: Consultant
Sunflower Foundation
Direct Costs: $25,000
12/01/2023-12/31/2024

University of Oklahoma (OU) Food First Pharmacy Program
PI: Wetherill
Ascension (CHECS Grant)  
Direct Costs: $171,430
Dates: 04/01/2023 – 06/30/2024

University of Oklahoma (OU) Food First Pharmacy Program
PI: Wetherill
Morningcrest Foundation  
Direct Costs: $100,000
Dates: 04/01/2024 – 3/31/2027

Recently Completed

Nutrition to Optimize, Understand, and Restore Insulin Sensitivity in HIV for Oklahoma (NOURISH-OK) Administrative Supplement
PI: Wetherill
Community Research Partner: Tulsa CARES
R01DK127464-04S1 (NIDDK)
09/01/2023 – 08/31/2024
Direct Costs: $107,298

Select Publications:

Select Publications

  1. Wetherill MS, Bakhsh C, Caywood L, Williams MB, Hartwell ML, Wheeler DL, Hubach RD, Teague TK, Köhler G, Hebert JR, Weiser SD. Unpacking determinants and consequences of food insecurity for insulin resistance among people living with HIV: Conceptual framework and protocol for the NOURISH-OK study. Front Clin Diabetes Healthc. 2022;3:947552. doi: 10.3389/fcdhc.2022.947552. Epub 2022 Aug 16. PMID: 36225538; PMCID: PMC9552993. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36225538/
  2. Wetherill MS, Bridges KM, Talavera GE, Harvey SP, Skidmore B, Burger ES. Planting Seeds for Food Is Medicine: Pre-Implementation Planning Methods and Formative Evaluation Findings From a Multi-Clinic Initiative in the Midwest. J Prim Care Community Health. 2024 Jan-Dec;15:21501319241241465. doi: 10.1177/21501319241241465. PMID: 38523426; PMCID: PMC10962037.
    Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38523426/
  3. Wetherill MS, Duncan AR, Bowman H, Collins R, Santa-Pinter N, Jackson M, Lynn CM, Prentice K, Isaacson M. Promoting nutrition equity for individuals with physical challenges: A systematic review of barriers and facilitators to healthy eating. Prev Med. 2021 Dec;153:106723. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106723. Epub 2021 Jul 14. PMID: 34271075.
    Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34271075/
  4. Williams M, Wetherill MS, Sabit A, Hollman N, Rao M, Young L, Comeau R. OR23-01-23 The Impact of a Pilot Nutrition Incentive Program on Total Produce Sales and Types of Produce Purchase Selections by SNAP Consumers in a Predominantly Rural Grocery Store Chain. Current Developments in Nutrition 2023; 7:100286
    Available at: https://cdn.nutrition.org/article/S2475-2991(23)24805-2/pdf
  5. Wetherill MS, Caywood LT, Hollman N, Carter VP, Gentges J, Sims A, Henderson CV. Food Is Medicine for Individuals Affected by Homelessness: Findings from a Participatory Soup Kitchen Menu Redesign. Nutrients. 2023 Oct 18;15(20):4417. doi: 10.3390/nu15204417. PMID: 37892492; PMCID: PMC10609710.
    Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37892492/
  6. Wetherill MS, Bourque EE, Taniguchi T, Love CV, Sisk M, Jernigan VBB. Development of a Tribally-led Gardening Curriculum for Indigenous Preschool Children: The FRESH Study. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2021 Nov;53(11):991-995. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2021.07.011. Epub 2021 Aug 19. PMID: 34420871; PMCID: PMC8595538.
    Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34420871/
  7. Wetherill MS, Williams MB, White KC, Seligman HK. Characteristics of Households of People With Diabetes Accessing US Food Pantries: Implications for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support. Diabetes Educ. 2019 Aug;45(4):397-407. doi: 10.1177/0145721719857547. Epub 2019 Jun 16. PMID: 31204590; PMCID: PMC7003289.
    Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31204590/
  8. Wetherill MS, White KC, Seligman HK. Nutrition-Focused Food Banking in the United States: A Qualitative Study of Healthy Food Distribution Initiatives. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2019 Oct;119(10):1653-1665. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2019.04.023. Epub 2019 Jun 28. PMID: 31262694; PMCID: PMC6765436.
    Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31262694/
  9. Wetherill MS, White KC, Rivera C. Food Insecurity and the Nutrition Care Process: Practical Applications for Dietetics Practitioners. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2018 Dec;118(12):2223-2234. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2017.08.114. Epub 2017 Dec 6. PMID: 29217123; PMCID: PMC5986582.
    Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29217123/
  10. Wetherill MS, Chancellor McIntosh H, Beachy C, Shadid O. Design and Implementation of a Clinic-Based Food Pharmacy for Food Insecure, Uninsured Patients to Support Chronic Disease Self-Management. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2018 Oct;50(9):947-949. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2018.05.014. Epub 2018 Jul 29. PMID: 30064811.
    Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30064811/
  11. Wetherill MS, Gray KA. Farmers' markets and the local food environment: identifying perceived accessibility barriers for SNAP consumers receiving temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) in an urban Oklahoma community. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2015 Mar-Apr;47(2):127-33.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2014.12.008. PMID: 25754298; PMCID: PMC4355576.
    Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25754298/

For a complete list, please see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/marianna.wetherill.1/bibliography/public/