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Clinical Nutrition

Many children with serious illnesses may have problems getting enough nutrients to help them stay strong and have enough energy. 

Clinicial nutrition staff member with a patient

Our Clinical Nutrition team helps meet your child’s nutritional needs so they can grow, stay at a healthy weight, and enjoy daily activities. We provide excellent care for children who need medical nutrition therapy.

Services we provide 

We provide many services to support your child’s nutrition. These include: 

  • Creating special diets to make sure your child gets the right nutrients during and after treatment
  • Teaching you and your child about these diets
  • Explaining how to eat safely during treatment
  • Managing side effects, such as weight changes 
  • Planning special feedings, such as enteral (tube) feeding, parenteral (IV) feeding or infant feedings
  • Explaining how nutrition can reduce the risk of diet-related cancers

When to contact a dietitian 

Contact a dietitian if you have concerns about your child’s nutrition, such as:

  • Questions about diet or feeding needs
  • Managing food allergies or special feeding requirements
  • Help with swallowing, chewing, or sucking difficulties
  • Adjusting tube or IV feeding plans
  • Support for breastfeeding

You can contact your dietitian through St. Jude MyChart or by asking your care team for help.

Your Clinical Nutrition team 

Our team consists of experts in nutrition and dietetics. Each service has primary dietitians who work closely with the medical team to provide the best nutrition care.

Meet your Clinical Nutrition team.

Nutrition research at St. Jude

Our Clinical Nutrition team focuses on using the best research and practices to support your child’s nutritional needs. We work closely with other departments to provide personalized nutrition care.

Our work includes:

  • Studying the nutrients patients consume
  • Understanding how to promote growth and development
  • Measuring body fat and muscle (body composition)
  • Analyzing energy use at rest
  • Providing personalized nutrition plans based on treatment
  • Studying how taste and smell change during treatment

Get involved with clinical nutrition 

To learn more about clinical nutrition, contact:

April Gollihugh, MS, RDN, LDN 
Director-Clinical Nutrition Services
Email: april.gollihugh@stjude.org

Karen Ringwald-Smith, MS, RDN, LDN, FAND
Project Manager
Email: karen.smith@stjude.org

 

 Learn more