Susan M Aaronson

Susan M Aaronson serves as Senior Lecturer and Director of the Dietetics Program in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. With over 30 years of experience as a Registered Dietitian, her career spans clinical, acute care, and community public health nutrition, emphasizing health equity and vulnerable populations.

Her educational background includes:

• MA in Nutrition from Wayne State University (1990)
• BS from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1987)

Aaronson's research centers on dietetic education, food insecurity, culinary medicine, and maternal nutrition in underserved communities. She pioneered Project Healthy Schools to combat childhood obesity in Detroit and statewide middle schools, developed Farm to School programming, and integrated nutrition education into perinatal care for incarcerated women through the Prison Doula Project. Her work with Food Gatherers and Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels demonstrates deep commitment to food security initiatives.

She leads key projects including the Culinary Medicine elective with Michigan Medicine and a peer-to-peer Nutrition Counseling Center pilot. Her board service with food security organizations complements her expertise in health equity and precision health, driving community-engaged research that bridges clinical practice and public health policy.

Aaronson collaborates extensively with doula organizations, non-profits, and correctional facilities to address nutritional disparities, particularly through her certified expertise in pediatric/adolescent weight management and culinary medicine applications.