Lauren R. Sastre is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition Science. She is a licensed Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN, LDN) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Western Carolina University and a masters and doctorate of philosophy in Nutrition Science from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She founded the Farm to Clinic (F2C) initiative in 2019 that seeks to partner undeserved and under-resourced patients with healthful food and nutrition and lifestyle medicine/culinary medicine programming to address chronic disease related disparities with a focus on diabetes management. She directs several initiatives through F2C, mentor’s students across a range of disciplines and is always looking for a new energetic student to join her team to make an impact! Since arriving to ECU she has received several grants (intramural and extramural) and been recognized for service, research and mentorship of students. She maintains active roles in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Public Health Association and regularly presents and publishes her translational research centering around health disparities, preventative/primary care, chronic disease management, population health, food security, and social determinants of health through a variety of platforms.