Episode 44 - Sarah Vermilyea - Nutrition in Children with Complex Health History

In this episode of Nutrition Pearls: the Podcast, co-hosts Jen Smith and Megan Murphy speak with Sarah Vermilyea MS, RD, CSP, LD, CNSC on the topic of nutrition in children with complex health history. Sarah is a pediatric dietitian with 20 years of experience. Over her career she has practiced across numerous pediatric specialty areas, most often in the PICU and its counterpart, outpatient complex care. She currently works at a pediatric intermediate care facility, providing nutrition care to both children and adults with complex medical needs.

Of particular interest to this podcast, Sarah was an inaugural NASPGHAN CPNP board member and the original organizer of the Nutrition Pearls YouTube series; serving CPNP members for more than 7 years.

Sarah has authored two book chapters on pediatric nutrition assessment—including NFPE for children with medical complexity—and has 12 publications in peer-reviewed journals. For the past two years, she has traveled to pediatric hospitals across the United States to train dietitians in performing NFPE on infants.

She serves as a preceptor for clinical and community nutrition interns from the University of Cincinnati, recently receiving their Outstanding Preceptor Award. Sarah is currently engaged in an exciting international collaboration with clinicians caring for children with neurological impairment.

Nutrition Pearls is supported by an educational grant from Mead Johnson Nutrition.

Resources:

Catastrophic Rupture – Orange Hat Publishing

‘How to SGNA’ by Donna Secker:

Secker DJ, Jeejeebhoy KN. How to perform Subjective Global Nutritional assessment in children. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012 Mar;112(3):424-431.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2011.08.039. Epub 2012 Mar 1. PMID: 22717202.

‘Updated SGNA’ template by Laura Carter:

Carter L, Hulst JM, Afzal N, Jeejeebhoy K, Brunet-Wood K. Update to the pediatric Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (SGNA). Nutr Clin Pract. 2022 Dec;37(6):1448-1457. doi: 10.1002/ncp.10859. Epub 2022 May 20. PMID: 35594373.

Produced by: Corey Irwin

NASPGHAN - Council for Pediatric Nutrition Professionals

cpnp@naspghan.org

Episode 44: CPNP Research Roadmap: Abstracts, Grants, and the New Research Roundtable Series

In this bonus episode of Nutrition Pearls: the Podcast, co-hosts Jen Smith, former CPNP Research Chair, and Nikki Misner, current CPNP Research Chair, highlight research opportunities within CPNP, including abstract submissions for the NASPGHAN Annual Meeting and the NASPGHAN Foundation CPNP Nutrition Research Grant. They also introduce a new series, Nutrition Pearls: Research Roundtable, which will feature conversations with authors about recent nutrition manuscripts and the stories behind their research.

Nutrition Pearls is supported by an educational grant from Mead Johnson Nutrition.

Resources:

NASPGHAN Annual Meeting Abstracts

NASPGHAN Foundation Grants

Produced by: Corey Irwin

NASPGHAN - Council for Pediatric Nutrition Professionals

cpnp@naspghan.org

Episode 43 - Wendy Elverson - Managing Food Protein–Induced Allergic Proctocolitis (FPIAP)

In this episode of Nutrition Pearls: the Podcast, co-hosts Megan Murphy and Bailey Koch speak with Wendy Elverson, RD, CSP, LDN about the latest research and best practice for managing infants with Food Protein-Induced Allergic Proctocolitis (FPIAP). Wendy is a registered dietitian who has specialized in clinical pediatric nutrition for more than 25 years. Currently, she is a Senior Clinical Nutrition Specialist at Boston Children’s, with expertise in pediatric food allergies and feeding disorders. Wendy is a provider in several multidisciplinary, allergy-focused clinics, including the Atopic Dermatitis Center, the FPIES Clinic, and the EGID Clinic. Wendy has been an active member of CPNP since 2015 and has had many roles, currently serving on the NASPGHAN Public Education Committee. Wendy was the previous Chair of INDANA (International Network for Diet and Nutrition in Allergy) and is the current chair of the Nutrition Work Group of the Allied Health Assembly of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI).

She is a proud co-author of several publications, including a free resource for caregivers of children with milk and egg allergies, tolerant to baked milk and egg, Muffins and More: A Baked Milk and Baked Egg Recipe and Guidebook.

Wendy was also the recipient of the 2025 CPNP Dietitian of Excellence Award.

References:

Mahoney, L. B., et al. (2025). Food protein-induced allergic proctocolitis: What do we know and where are we going? Current Treatment Options in Pediatrics, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40746-025-00346-4

Meyer, R., et al. (2025). An update on the diagnosis and management of non-IgE-mediated food allergies in children. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, 36(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/pai.70060

Franco, C., Fente, C., Sánchez, C., Lamas, A., Cepeda, A., Leis, R., & Regal, P. (2022). Cow’s Milk Antigens Content in Human Milk: A Scoping Review. In Foods (Vol. 11, Issue 12). https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11121783

Gamirova, A., et al. (2022). Food proteins in human breast milk and probability of IgE-mediated allergic reaction during breastfeeding: A systematic review. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2022.01.028

Meyer, R., et al. (2023). WAO DRACMA guideline update VII: Milk elimination and reintroduction in cow’s milk allergy diagnosis. World Allergy Organization Journal, 16(7). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.waojou.2023.100785

Produced by: Corey Irwin

NASPGHAN - Council for Pediatric Nutrition Professionals

cpnp@naspghan.org

Episode 42 - Erin Feldman - Prehabilitation in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

In this episode of Nutrition Pearls: the Podcast, co-hosts Jen Smith and Nikki Misner speak with dietitian Erin Feldman on the topic of prehabilitation in pediatric IBD. Erin Feldman, RD, is a registered dietitian at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles with more than 25 years of experience supporting pediatric patients with complex gastrointestinal conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). She plays an integral role in Cedars-Sinai’s IBD prehabilitation program for patients 13 and older, guiding patients through nutrition optimization before, during, and after surgery to help ensure the best possible outcomes. Over the past 2 years, Erin has served as faculty for Cedars-Sinai’s six-month IBD Dietitian Apprenticeship Program, where she trains and mentors dietitians in pediatric IBD care. Her deep clinical expertise and passion for multidisciplinary collaboration make her a key voice in advancing nutrition for pediatric IBD patients.

Nutrition Pearls is supported by an educational grant from Mead Johnson Nutrition.

Resources:

Banty A, et al. Feasibility of a nurse and dietitian-led IBD surgical prehabilitation program. Abstracts From the 2023 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress. 2023;164(4)S21.

Ladd MR et al. Malnutrition increases the risk of 30-day complications after surgery in pediatric patients with Crohn disease. J Ped Surg. 2018;53(11)2336-2345.

Menchaca AD, et al. Preoperative nutrition status predicts hospital length of stay and unplanned reoperation risk in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease. J Ped Surg. 2025;60(3)162147.

Martins DS, Piper HG. Nutrition considerations in pediatric surgical patients. Nutr Clin Pract 2022;37:510–520.

Produced by: Corey Irwin

NASPGHAN - Council for Pediatric Nutrition Professionals

cpnp@naspghan.org

Episode 41 - Meghan McNeil - ​​Updates in Diet Therapy for Eosinophilic Esophagitis: From Elimination to Reintroduction

In this episode of Nutrition Pearls: the Podcast, co-hosts Megan Murphy and Nikki Misner talk with Meghan McNeil about the latest updates in EOE management. Meghan is a Registered Dietitian at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The first ten years of her career she worked in nutrition research studies that were funded by the National Institute of Health. She was a part of a variety of studies looking at bone density, type 1 diabetes, and non-alcoholic liver disease. She currently works as a clinician dietitian, specializing in the nutrition management of patients with Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Meghan loves working with this patient population as she focuses on creating practical approaches to allowing patients to get the nutrients they need while also balancing allowing them to enjoy foods that are safe for them to eat given their diet restrictions.

Nutrition Pearls is supported by an educational grant from Mead Johnson Nutrition.

Resources:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28283156/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36863390/

https://godairyfree.org/

Produced by: Corey Irwin

NASPGHAN - Council for Pediatric Nutrition Professionals

cpnp@naspghan.org

Episode 40- NASPGHAN/APGNN/CPNP Annual Meeting Recap

In this episode of Nutrition Pearls: the Podcast, host Jen Smith asks members of the CPNP executive committee questions about their experiences and learnings at the annual meeting.

Nutrition Pearls is supported by an educational grant from Mead Johnson Nutrition.

Produced by: Corey Irwin

NASPGHAN - Council for Pediatric Nutrition Professionals

cpnp@naspghan.org

Episode 39 - Mary Beth Feuling - From Data to Impact: Advancing Pediatric Nutrition in Hospital Systems

In this episode of Nutrition Pearls: the Podcast, co-hosts Nikki Misner and Bailey Koch speak with Mary Beth Feuling on how pediatric dietitians can use data, EMRs, and innovative tools to improve patient care and malnutrition identification at a systems level.

Mary Beth is a pediatric nutrition specialist with expertise in nutrition informatics, quality, and research, dedicated to advancing care for children across all ages. Over the past thirteen years as an advanced practice dietitian, she has led quality improvement and research initiatives at Children’s Wisconsin, mentoring dietitians to develop their research skills and improving pediatric nutrition care locally, nationally, and internationally.

Nutrition Pearls is supported by an educational grant from Mead Johnson Nutrition.

Resources:

Feuling MB, Hilbrands J, Hettich K, et al. Registered Dietitian Nutritionist consultation is associated with improvement in nutritional status in chronically ill children: a retrospective cohort study. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2025;(Epub ahead of print). doi:10.1016/j.jand.2025.05.011.

Hilbrands J, Feuling MB, Szabo A, et al. Nutrition screening in the pediatric intensive care unit: evaluation of an electronic medical record–based tool. Nutrients. 2023;15(21):4591. doi:10.3390/nu15214591.

Umentum B, Kim HJ, Adkins A, et al. Are dietitian recommendations followed? A descriptive study of pediatric hospitalized and ambulatory patients. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2024;(Epub ahead of print). doi:10.1111/jhn.13291.

Crouse J, Feuling MB, Winter T, Goday PS, Smith A. Electronic health record time-tracking provides real-time data to measure and benchmark dietitian productivity. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2024;37(1):105-110. doi:10.1111/jhn.13236.

Hilbrands J, Feuling MB, Szabo A, et al. Evaluation of an electronic medical record–based pediatric nutrition screening tool. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2023;36(5):1912-1921. doi:10.1111/jhn.13177.

Sparapani RA, Teng BQ, Hilbrands J, Pipkorn R, Beth FM, Goday PS. Novel pediatric height outlier detection methodology for electronic health records via machine learning with monotonic Bayesian additive regression trees. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2022;75(2):210-214.

Rusnak S, Charney P. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Nutrition informatics. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2019;119(8):1375-1382. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2019.06.004.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality Management

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Malnutrition Care Score

Nutrition Care Process

Interoperability and Health Information Standards

Children’s Hospitals Solutions for Patient Safety

Six Domains of Health Care Quality

Produced by: Corey Irwin

NASPGHAN - Council for Pediatric Nutrition Professionals

cpnp@naspghan.org

Episode 38 - Countdown to Chicago: What’s Ahead at the CPNP Nutrition Symposium

In this episode of Nutrition Pearls: the Podcast, host Nikki Misner speaks with Dr. Brock Williams and Tamara Sims Dorway about the upcoming CPNP Nutrition Symposium at the annual NASPGHAN meeting on November 6-8th in Chicago, Illinois.

Brock Williams is a Registered Dietitian and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada). Over the past 10 years, he has worked as both a clinical and research dietitian at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids; Toronto), and at BC Children's Hospital (Vancouver) in areas such as Translational Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Allergy. His major clinical and research interests lie in micronutrients and childhood feeding (human milk feeding, complementary feeding and the prevention and treatment of food allergy). Brock currently serves as President-elect of CPNP.

Tamara Sims Dorway is an experienced Registered Dietitian who is a board-certified specialist in pediatric nutrition. She is an integral part of the multidisciplinary team at the Center for Digestive Health and Nutrition at Arnold Palmer Hospital, where she provides comprehensive nutritional care for children and families facing a range of GI challenges. She has previously served on the CPNP planning committee for NASPGHAN and was the communications co-chair for POWER (Pediatric Obesity Weight Evaluation Registry). She enjoys volunteering in her community and spending time with her family. She is the current CPNP Program Chair

Nutrition Pearls is supported by an educational grant from Mead Johnson Nutrition.

Resources:

NASPGHAN 2025 Annual Meeting

NASPGHAN 2025 App

Produced by: Corey Irwin

NASPGHAN - Council for Pediatric Nutrition Professionals

cpnp@naspghan.org