Student Spotlight: Brianna Matthew

Mission: Nutrition

Brianna Matthew, a second-year student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM), has always had a passion for nutrition. Thanks to a Cleveland Clinic Catalyst Grant for her project "Enhancing Nutrition Literacy in Medical Education: The CCLCM Medicine Initiative for Hypertension," she is now working with mentors and peers to educate a group of hypertensive Clevelanders about maintaining a healthy diet. Matthew discusses her unique background, the importance of health education and plans for her new initiative below.

How did you end up at CCLCM?

I was born and grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands. After getting my bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. CCLCM stood out to me from the very first time I visited it on interview day. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and I felt a really strong sense of community among the students. As a first-generation student, it was important to me to enter a supportive, diverse environment. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to come to CCLCM.

You have a unique background. How has it influenced your passion for nutrition?

Cooking played a big role in my childhood. Some of my favorite memories are of me cooking with my mom. In the Caribbean, dietary habits often include significant amounts of meat, rice and flour-based foods. My father has diabetes, and it’s always been a struggle to get him to eat healthier. I started thinking about how I could use my love of cooking and my medical knowledge to help people of all backgrounds make more nutritious dietary choices. My mission is to meet communities where they are. Healthy eating doesn’t have to get in the way of celebrating culture through food. I want to help people adapt the foods they already cherish into more nutritious meals.

You recently won a Cleveland Clinic Catalyst Grant for a nutrition literacy project proposal – congratulations! Tell us about the project.

This is a project that’s meant to address knowledge deficits within both patient and physician communities. Medical school does an excellent job of providing foundational scientific knowledge behind different pathologies and diseases. What I found in practice though is that I couldn’t take the medicine behind nutrition and effectively apply it when discussing dietary planning with patients. Patients with hypertension and diabetes would often mention their struggles with maintaining a healthy diet, and I wouldn’t know how to help them. That’s when my colleagues and I decided that we wanted to create an initiative incorporating nutrition education into the medical curriculum.

The Catalyst Grant covers 20 hypertension patients and 20 medical students to participate side-by-side in nutrition education activities. These include three cooking sessions led by a professional chef -- during which participants will learn how to make healthier alternatives to some of their favorite foods -- as well as a grocery store immersion session where a registered dietitian will teach participants to read nutritional labels and pick ingredients. Since this is a pilot program, participants will complete pre- and post-activity surveys to provide feedback.

It's unique to see programs where medical students and patients are learning together. Why is that so important?

For medical students to effectively engage with patients about nutrition, they must first understand the challenges of diet adherence from the perspective of patients. This program gives medical students the opportunity to cook healthy alternative dishes and learn shopping techniques themselves so that when they work in the clinic, they can relate to patients’ experiences. It also allows students to get comfortable working interprofessionally with dietitians. By including patients in the program, we aim to teach healthy habits, create a supportive environment and gain insight into their cultural relationships with food. We hope to eventually host patients with diseases other than hypertension to gain an even broader understanding of patients’ relationship to nutrition.

You mentioned earlier that your father inspired your passion for nutrition. What does he think about this project?

He’s really excited about it! My dad wants me to come and teach him the techniques we learn in our sessions once the pilot program is over. I can’t wait to share my new knowledge with my family back home.