Curriculum Vitae

A native Minnesotan, Dr. Hansen-Petrik got her start in clinical dietetics practice at a teaching hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina, where she specialized in neurology, nephrology, and critical care. She also whet her appetite for teaching as an adjunct at UNC-Wilmington. After completing her PhD here at UTK in the basic sciences, she took on a full-time position with a focus on teaching and directing the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). She has taught a wide range of both undergraduate and graduate courses at UTK, but concentrates primarily on applied clinical coursework. In 2017 she led a team in development of a new educational model for preparing registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs). Today, UTK’s Master of Science in Nutrition with a concentration in Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics is embedded within a Graduate Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (GP) – the first program of its kind to be accredited by ACEND in the state of Tennessee. As director of the program, she is excited to work with a talented group of faculty to continue to grow and evolve this innovative approach to teaching the RDNs of the future.