About

I am a scholar-activist, rouser of rabble, thorn-in-your-side feminist, metalsmith, artist and musician. Inspired by Isaac Asimov (another Boston University alumnus): “There is an art to science, and a science in art; the two are not enemies, but different aspects of the whole.” For those interested, my Curriculum Vitae. DeBiasseCV_Full_03.12.24.docx

Biography

Born and raised in New Jersey, I attended Chatham Township High School (“go Huskies!”) with an interest in everything but academics.  After graduation, I attended college as a first generation college student on a path to become an art therapist.  Sparked by the convergence of a newly-found joy for learning, a Physiology course, and a trip to California during the senior year of my undergraduate studies in psychology, I graduated and then decided to obtain a second Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition.   A combined Master’s degree/dietetic internship followed, which turned into my first professional opportunity as a Nutrition Support Team dietitian.  Many years of critical care/nutrition support clinical practice were followed by many years of clinical nutrition management.  Opportunities for teaching (first part-time as an adjunct, and then full-time as a member of the faculty) were taken, followed by the opportunity to direct the Programs in Nutrition at Boston University/Sargent College.  While working at Boston University I obtained my PhD.  My dissertation work to improve diet quality among racial/ethnic minority women galvanized my commitment to social justice scholarship/activism and feminist theory and praxis which remain the focus of my scholarship today.

Diversity Statement

My position as a white, heterosexual person from a middle to upper middle-class background has granted me many privileges not available to many folx; particularly those from historically excluded, marginalized groups.  I credit my experiences as a first-generation college student with informing the person I am today.  Growing up, I was not fully conscious of my white privilege and how it afforded me ease in navigating and achieving my personal and professional goals.  It took a conversation with a group of dietitians racialized as Black regarding the proposed increase in the education requirement to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and how that might disproportionately negatively impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to make me fully conscious of the role of systems of oppression and how they work in the field of dietetics (and elsewhere!) to maintain white hegemony.

Since that day I have committed myself fully and completely to work on myself and within healthcare professions to disrupt and dismantle systems of oppression for all groups which have been historically excluded from dietetics and society.  My guiding principle is to engage in persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination.  Humanity and healthcare professions that are positioned to provide healthcare to humanity requires nothing less of us.

Education

PhD     Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA – Nutrition and Metabolism

Dissertation: The theory of planned behavior and implementation intentions to describe and improve fruit and vegetable intake in women of low socioeconomic status

Deborah J Bowen, PhD & Lisa M Quintilani, PhD, RD (co-chairs)

MS       Rush University, Chicago, IL – Clinical Nutrition

Thesis: Dietary control of motor fluctuations in Levodopa-treated Parkinson’s disease patients

Thesis: In-patient clinical nutrition services: An activity check-list study of labor productivity

Dietetic Internship           Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, IL

BS           University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA – Human Nutrition

BA        University of Denver, Denver, CO – Psychology (cum laude)

 

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