★ Federal Prize Competition

Nutrition Education Challenge

Engaging medical schools, residency programs, and nursing schools in proposing curriculum that can be replicated and expanded to promote quality nutrition training.

Closing the Gap in Nutrition Education

Diet-related chronic diseases are responsible for more than 50% of deaths in the United States. An estimated 1.5 million Americans die from diet-related chronic diseases each year, and the U.S. spends more than $1.1 trillion annually on treatment of chronic health conditions — yet healthcare professionals receive remarkably little nutrition training.

The Education Gap

Only 1.2 Hours Per Year

The majority of medical students report receiving only 1.2 hours per year of formal nutrition education.

75% Have No Required Classes

75% of U.S. medical schools have no required clinical nutrition classes. Only 14% of resident physicians feel adequately trained.

~50 Hours in Nursing

Nutrition-focused education in BSN programs averages only ~50 hours, with emphasis on acute clinical applications rather than prevention.

Two Primary Objectives

Developed by the NIH Office of Nutrition Research (ONR) under the title “Integration of Nutrition Training into Medical and Nursing Education.”

✓Recognize Excellence — Identify and reward exemplary, already-implemented nutrition curricula
✓Incentivize Innovation — Support development of new or expanded curricula with strong scaling potential

Priority Areas

Four key areas guiding evaluation and impact

Integration

Integration of nutrition education across the full training experience, from preclinical through clinical years.

Evidence-Based

Curricula grounded in evidence-based content reflecting current nutrition science and clinical guidelines.

Practical

Practical implementation strategies that prepare learners for real-world nutrition counseling and patient care.

Scalable

Scalability and national relevance, with potential for adoption by diverse institutions across the country.

Who Can Enter

The challenge is open to U.S.-based, accredited, non-profit academic institutions.

✓Medical schools — MD and DO programs (accredited by LCME or AOA COCA)
✓Residency training programs (accredited by ACGME)
✓Nursing schools (accredited by CCNE or ACEN)

Two Challenge Tracks

Choose the track that best fits your institution’s nutrition education program.

Exemplar Track

For institutions with existing, already-implemented nutrition education programs that demonstrate measurable outcomes and best practices.

Developing Track

For institutions building or expanding nutrition curricula, with strong potential for scaling and dissemination to other programs.

Up to $2,100,000 in Awards

Awards of up to $75,000 each across Medical Schools, Residency Programs, and Nursing Programs. Prize-winning curriculum toolkits may be publicly disseminated by NIH for consideration by accredited schools nationwide.

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Ready to Transform Nutrition Education?

Learn how to enter the challenge and submit your nutrition curriculum.