Samantha Coogan

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Director, Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics

Senior Lecturer, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences

Expertise: Diet, Human nutrition, Food science, Lifecycle nutrition, Community nutrition, Food & ethnic issues

Biography

Samantha Coogan is a senior lecturer within the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences, and serves as the director of the Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (DPND). She has been licensed in Nevada as a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) since 2014.

Coogan teaches human nutrition, sports nutrition, nutrition, health and ethnic issues, nutrition assessment, and medical nutrition therapy (MNT) within the B.S. in Nutrition Sciences undergraduate program. She has also taught in the areas of food science, lifecycle nutrition, and community nutrition.

Coogan is a fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is a past president of the Nevada Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (NvAND), and is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Nevada Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and Nutrition and Dietetic Educators and Preceptors practice group.

In 2019, she won the Nevada Emerging Dietetic Leader of the Year Award, and was then featured in the Opening Session of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) 2019 for her role as program director and passion for creating confidence in her students to become future leaders of the profession.

Coogan was later the 2023 Nevada Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year (RYDY) recipient for her contributions to the Las Vegas community, leadership in education and career guidance, and participation in the dietetics profession at the state and national levels.

She is frequently called upon by national media including Healthline, Sports Illustrated, Women's Health Magazine, and Wallethub.

Education

M.S., Exercise Physiology, UNLV
B.S., Nutrition Sciences, UNLV

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Samantha Coogan In The News

The 7 Worst Diet Mistakes Dietitians See Over and Over

Wise & Well

Pitfalls to avoid if you want to feel better, be healthier, lose weight, be stronger or live longer.

7 Healthy Midday Snacks to Help You Beat the Afternoon Energy Crash

Real Simple

By the time late afternoon rolls around, so does that lethargic and unproductive sensation you’ve worked all day to avoid. The feeling is more commonly known as a ‘midday slump,’ or the dip in energy we experience halfway through the day. It’s easy to wonder if afternoon slumps show up like clockwork, but it’s actually the food we eat that helps drive (or curtail) our energy levels. That means there's a solution.

Is Chocolate Good For Your Heart? Here's What Science Says

Health

For hundreds of years, people have turned to chocolate to boost heart health. Back in the 1500s, the indigenous Aztec people consumed cocoa as a drink believed to treat various ailments, including angina, a type of chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart.

Why seniors may face obstacles to eating healthy

Eating? That comes naturally for Americans of just about any demographic or age group. Eating nutritionally? That takes some attention, particularly for older Americans, who face healthy eating challenges, both medical and practical, that their younger counterparts may not.