I'm a chef, dietitian, behavioral scientist, and healthcare executive. I design and evaluate lifestyle medicine programs, have taught future clinicians, and build practical AI tools for nutrition and healthcare.
Wesley McWhorter, DrPH, MS, RDN, LD, CSCS · Houston, Texas
My work spans professional kitchens, university research, medical education and health-system leadership. Each setting has taught me something about what it takes to improve health.
At Suvida Healthcare, I lead registered dietitians, physical therapists, Health Education Coordinators, and hospitality and events teams across 14 centers in Texas and Arizona. Our patients are older adults, many from Hispanic communities.
I lead intervention design, implementation and evaluation, including food-as-medicine programs and university research partnerships. The question is not only whether an idea works, but whether it works in routine care.
I use my training as a professional chef and dietitian to teach culinary skills, build teaching-kitchen programs, and make evidence-based nutrition more useful to patients and professionals.
I taught in medical and public health programs at UTHealth Houston, helped develop interdisciplinary curricula, and contributed to funded research in culinary medicine, food prescriptions and health equity.
I use and develop practical AI workflows for nutrition education, recipe development, clinical teams and research. My current work includes structured prompts, tools designed for dietitians, and applications in intervention design and data analysis.
What matters to me is whether a tool saves time, improves quality or makes evidence easier to use. Outputs still need checking, especially when the information affects patient care.
2026 conversation: Nutrition, AI and credible guidance — Academy & MATTER ↗
I was a tenure-track assistant professor at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and in McGovern Medical School's Department of Internal Medicine, where I directed the Nutrition Longitudinal Theme.
Primary instructor, McGovern Medical School and UTHealth School of Public Health (2017–2022).
Primary instructor, UTHealth School of Public Health (2022).
Primary instructor, UTHealth School of Public Health (2021).
Culinary dentistry, nutrition longitudinal curriculum, virtual culinary medicine, and health professional continuing education.
The Effect of Virtual Versus In-Person Delivery on Behavior Changes Among Adults Enrolled in the Diabetes Prevention Program. PubMed ↗
Proposed Nutrition Competencies for Medical Students and Physician Trainees. PubMed ↗
Perspectives of Health Care Staff on Predictors of Success in a Food Prescription Program. PubMed ↗
Nutrition reporting, podcasts and interviews on food, health, behavior and AI. Here are a few conversations worth sharing.
On the useful—and potentially misleading—ways people are turning to AI for nutrition advice.
Read the article ↗ WATCH / HUFFPOST / JUNE 2026
A 51-minute conversation about vitamins, creatine and separating evidence from marketing.
Watch the interview ↗Some of my favorite professional work happens in person—working alongside clinicians, students and program leaders in the kitchen, classroom and at conferences.
SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIFORNIACULINARY MEDICINE WORKSHOP · 2025Adjunct faculty for an immersive culinary medicine workshop, working alongside interdisciplinary faculty—including Jaclyn Albin, MD—on practical approaches to food as medicine.
Co-facilitated an interactive workshop helping teaching kitchen professionals work through real-world AI uses in program design and nutrition education.
Read about the workshop ↗Hands-on culinary education for medical and nursing students, linking food preparation to patient conversations.
View event coverage ↗Highlights from the Teaching Kitchen Research Conference, hosted by the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative.
Browse the official photo album ↗My background includes culinary school, a doctorate in behavioral science, teaching medical students, and leading healthcare teams. Outside work you'll usually find me cooking, lifting, cycling, surfing, skiing or tending to an unreasonable number of plants.
For academic collaborations, speaking and media requests, or projects involving food as medicine, intervention design and AI.
Email Wesley ↗