Students from the CU2RE program work in the Blazer Kitchen food bank as part of their nutrition education.The UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine is leveraging additional federal support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to expand and strengthen nutrition education for students in its cornerstone Comprehensive Urban Underserved and Rural Experience (CU2RE) program. This builds on the department’s long-standing commitment to treat nutrition and exercise as foundational components of primary care.
The supplemental HRSA funding supports the development of a comprehensive curriculum designed to further expand medical students’ skills in evidence‑based nutrition assessment, chronic disease prevention, and exercise and lifestyle counseling.
“Alabama ranks near the bottom nationally in physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption, and near the top for diabetes and other chronic diseases,” said Irfan Asif, M.D., chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine and associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health. “Our goal is to equip Heersink students to comfortably prescribe nutrition and exercise together for their future patients. That combination of nutrition and exercise—rather than focusing one alone—is what will truly impact Alabama’s health outcomes.”
Dietitian Caroline Cohen, Ph.D., is part of the team developing expanded nutrition curriculum.The award will support the creation of eight interactive modules for CU2RE students, with content adaptable for broader dissemination to other medical schools nationwide.
The modules will cover:
Basics of nutrition assessment
Malnutrition screening, diagnosis, and nutrient deficiencies
Medical nutrition therapy for chronic disease and interprofessional collaboration
Motivational interviewing for nutrition and exercise counseling
Nutrition labels and health claims
Self‑monitoring for health behaviors
Food access and health equity
Primary car sports medicine provider Joseph Coppiano, M.D., serves as medical director for the CU2RE program and educates medical students on exercise prescription.Curriculum development is being led by assistant professors Caroline Cohen, Ph.D., RD, CSSD, and Joseph Coppiano, M.D., alongside Family and Community Medicine Instructional Designer Jon Ezell, Ph.D., MS, MLIS. Together, they bring expertise in nutrition science, primary care education, and community focused medical training.
“Despite having proven benefits, this kind of counseling is underused in clinical settings,” explained Coppiano, medical director for the CU2RE program. “Family medicine educators have the unique opportunity to fill this gap in medical student training to both create confidence in prescribing physical activity and aid in building a primary care identity.”
Building on strong foundations in nutrition and exercise education
The new modules expand on an already robust approach to nutrition and exercise education within the department, particularly through the CU2RE program. Launched in 2019, CU2RE recruits and trains medical students committed to serving medically underserved urban and rural communities across Alabama.
CU2RE students receive more than 20 hours of focused training—nutrition counseling, exercise prescription, and lifestyle medicine strategies—during their first two years of medical school. Students also participate in community health fairs, provide nutrition counseling, and engage directly with patients and communities facing high burdens of chronic disease.
In addition, CU2RE includes dedicated training for weight stigma and evidence‑based obesity treatment, equipping future physicians with practical strategies to help patients incorporate physical activity and improve nutrition.
Extending impact beyond the classroom
Faculty also helped create publicly available exercise prescription modules used by trainees and clinicians, which have already been viewed by more than 650 users. These resources reinforce the department’s broader mission of translating academic expertise into practical tools that benefit both learners and the communities they serve.
By pairing expanded curriculum with hands‑on, community‑based learning, leaders say the HRSA‑supported effort will further position UAB Family and Community Medicine as a national leader in integrating nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle medicine into medical education.
“Preventing and managing chronic disease starts in the exam room, but it is grounded in behaviors that happen every day,” Cohen said. “By strengthening how we teach nutrition and exercise, we’re helping students become physicians who treat the whole person.”
The CU2RE Program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $17.175 million, with 10% financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.