Nadia Markie Sneed PhD, RN, APRN, FNP-BC

Assistant Professor

Bio

Dr. Sneed's program of research is focused on the development and testing of non-pharmacological dietary interventions that utilize food as medicine to treat obesity and diabetes (pre- and type 2) to prevent a sequela of co-morbid, long-term complications in high-risk families. Importantly, her research aims to test interventions that are not only clinically effective, but sustainable by addressing health inequities stemming from social determinants of health (SDOH). Dr. Sneed holds a baccalaureate degree in Nutrition from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She has extensive clinical, academic, and research training in nutrition science, nursing, public health, and patient-centered outcomes research completing her PhD in Nursing from the University of Alabama Birmingham, and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at VUSN as a Vanderbilt PROgRESS T32 Trainee. Her current studies include using a whole foods diet approach adapted from the current 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for American's framework to 1) treat prediabetes in parents and 2) reduce body adiposity in adolescents with obesity while also improving overall family diet quality and addressing SDOH considerations to support long-term adoption of a healthy whole foods diet pattern. Through this work, Dr. Sneed hopes to identify equitable, sustainable, and culturally appropriate multi-generational solutions for obesity and type 2 diabetes prevention in at-risk families using a customizable healthy whole foods diet approach.

Education

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
PhD, University of Alabama, Birmingham
MSN, Samford University
BSN, Samford University
BS Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Current Research/Scholarly Interests

Type 2 Diabetes Prevention in Families
Dietary Interventions
Childhood Obesity Prevention
Food as Medicine for Diabetes Prevention

Academic Interests

Grantsmanship
Research Design
Primary Care
Nutrition
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Grants

National Institutes of Health- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality T32 Program (PI: Roumie, 07/01/2021-06/30/2024, Award Amount: $177,422).
Learning Health Systems training program: PROgRESS- Patient/pRactice Outcomes and Research in Effectiveness and Systems Science (5T32HS026122-04).

Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research Feasibility Grant, (PI: Sneed, 07/27/2022-12/31/2022, Award Amount: $9,993)
Status: Awarded July 2022
Whole Diabetes: A Precision Nutrition Approach of a Family-Centered Whole Foods Diet in Adults with Prediabetes and their Offspring

Vanderbilt Faculty Research Scholars Program Internal K-Award, (PI:Sneed, 07/01/2024-06/30/2027, Award Amount: $300,000)
Whole Foods for Families - A Pilot RCT of a Dietary Guidelines-Based Intervention to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Vanderbilt Digestive Diseases Research Center Pilot Project Program (PI: Sneed, 07/01/2024-06/31/2025, Award Amount: $63,000)
Whole Foods for Teens: A Pilot Dietary Intervention to Reduce Body Adiposity in Adolescents with Obesity.

Representative Publications

Journals

Sneed, N.M., Heerman, W.J., Shaw, P.A., Han, K., Chen, T., Bian, A., Pugh, S., Duda, S., Lumley, T., and Shepherd, B.E. Associations Between Gestational Weight Gain, Gestational Diabetes, and Childhood Obesity Incidence. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2023/11/15 2023;doi:10.1007/s10995-023-03853-8

Sneed, N. M., Azuero, A., Moss, J., Goss, A., & Morrison, S. Added sugar consumption is not significantly associated with risk for prediabetes among U.S. Adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013-2018. PLoS One. 2023;18(6):e0286759. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0286759

Heerman, W.J., Sneed N.M., E.C., Truesdale, K.P., Matheson, D., Noerper, T.E., Samuels, L.R., and Barkin, S.L. Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and BMI-Z Among Children from Predominantly Low-Income Households and Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups. Pediatric Obesity. 2023;e13037. doi:10.1111/ijpo.13037

Sneed NM, Ukwuani, S., Sommer, E.C., Samuels, L.R., Truesdale, K.P., Matheson, D., Noerper, T.E., Barkin, S.L., and Heerman, W.J. Reliability and Validity of Assigning Ultra-Processed Food Categories to 24-Hour Dietary Recall Data Collected Using the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDS-R). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2023/01/01/ 2023;117(1):182-190. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2022.10.016

Sneed, N.M., Azuero, A., and Morrison, S.A. Prediabetes awareness is not associated with reduced consumption of self-reported added sugar in U.S. adults. Annals of Epidemiology. 2022/08/27/ 2022;doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2022.08.039
Sneed NM. (2021) Added sugar consumption and prediabetes in US adults: a cross-sectional analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013-2018. Publication Number 2572565393. The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Sneed, N.M., and Morrison, S.A. (2021). Body composition methods in adults with type 2 diabetes or at risk for T2D: A clinical review. Current Diabetes Reports. 21(5), 14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-021-01381-9.

Sneed, N.M., Patrician, P., Morrison, S.A., (2019). Added sugar consumption in type 2 diabetes risk: A principle-based concept analysis. Nursing Forums, 54(4), 698-706. doi:10.1111/nuf.12399.

Morrison, S.A., Fazelli, P., Gower, B., Younger, J., Willig, A., Sneed, N.M., & Vance, D.E. (2019). The cognitive effects of a ketogenic diet on neurocognitive impairment in adults aging with HIV: A pilot study. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care: JANAC, 10.1097/JNC.0000000000000110.

Morrison, S.A., Fazelli, P., Gower, B., Willig, A., Younger, J., Sneed, N.M., & Vance, D.E. (2018). The ketogenic diet as a non-pharmacological treatment for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder: A descriptive analysis. Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 3(1014).

Representative Presentations

Sneed, N.M., Kelley, R., Turner, H., Piano, M.R., Adams, L.B., and Heerman, W.J. Whole Foods for Prediabetes: Feasibility and Acceptability of a Dietary Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention in Families. July 2024. Poster Presentation at the American Society of Nutrition: NUTRITION 2024 (Chicago, IL).

Sneed N.M., Piano M., VanWyk C., Turner H., and Heerman W.J. P22-046-23 Study Protocol: Feasibility of a Whole Foods Dietary Guidelines-Based Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention in High-Risk Families. July 2023. Poster Presentation at the 2023 American Society of Nutrition Conference (Boston, MA).

Sneed N.M., Piano M., VanWyk C., Turner H., and Heerman W.J. Whole Foods for Prediabetes: Protocol of a Feasibility Study of a Dietary Guidelines-Based Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention. Oral presentation at the 29th Annual AHRQ NRSA Trainees Research Conference (virtual).

Heerman W, Sommer E, Samuels L, Matheson D, Truesdale K, Sneed N.M., Barkin S. Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Early Childhood BMI-Z Score. Oral Presentation at The Obesity Society Annual Meeting. November 2022. San Diego, CA.

Sneed, N.M., Ukwuani, S., Sommer, E.C., Samuels, L.R., Truesdale, K.P., Matheson, D., Noerper, T.E., Barkin, S.L., and Heerman, W.J. Reliability and validity of assigning ultra-processed food categories to 24-hour dietary recall data collected using the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDS-R). June 2022. Poster presentation at the 2022 American Society of Nutrition Conference (virtual).

Sneed, N.M., Heerman, W.J., Shaw, P.A., Han, K., Chen, T., Bian, A., Pugh, S., Duda, S., Lumley, T., and Shepherd, B.E. (May 2022) Associations between gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes, and childhood obesity incidence: a retrospective cohort study. Oral presentation at the 28th Annual AHRQ NRSA Trainees Research Conference (virtual).

Sneed, N.M., Azuero, A., Morrison, S.A. (June 2021). Added sugar consumption is not relevantly associated with an increased odds of prediabetes in U.S. adults. Poster presentation at the 2021 American Society of Nutrition Conference (virtual).
Sneed, N.M., Morrison, S.A., and Pavela, G. (March 2019). Consumption of added sugar among U.S. adults who are aware and unaware of their prediabetes status. Poster presentation at the 2019 Endocrine Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Reviewer

Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Disease, 2024
American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 2023
Diabetology (MDPI), 2023
Healthcare (MDPI), 2023
Nursing Forum, 2019, 2021

Professional Organizations

American Association of Nurse Practitioners (2012-present)
American Society for Nutrition (2017-present)
The Obesity Society (2017-present)

Honors/Awards

National Institutes of Nursing Research Loan Repayment Program Awardee, July 2023-June 2025.
American Society of Nutrition-Family Travel Grant Award, June 2021 (University of Alabama Birmingham)
Alabama Nurses Foundation Academic Scholarship, April 2020 (University of Alabama Birmingham)
Top 10 Oral/Poster Student Presentation, Southern Nursing Research Society (University of Alabama Birmingham)