Associate Professor
Winston-Salem State University
Krista Sowell is an associate professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Sport Studies at Winston-Salem State University. Her primary teaching responsibilities are in the area of general nutrition. She received her PhD in Nutritional Biology from the University of California, Davis, in 2016, specializing in the area of immunology. Dissertation work included research on investigating maternal nutritional and immunological factors that altered the susceptibility of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in alcohol-exposed infants.
Her current research interests focus on improving nutrition through evidence-based nutrition education in vulnerable populations. Chronic diseases and their risk factors are also more common and severe for African Americans and other racial and ethnic minority groups than for non-Hispanic Whites. Non-Hispanic Blacks have a higher prevalence and are twice as likely as non-Hispanic Whites to have diabetes and cardiovascular diseases simultaneously. Current projects include developing culturally tailored interventions focused on improving awareness, knowledge, and health behaviors in African American adults with multiple chronic conditions.