Shari Youngblood

Dr. Shari M. Youngblood is an Assistant Professor and Core Faculty Member in the Department of Integrative & Functional Nutrition at Saybrook University, where she teaches in the MS and PhD programs, mentors graduate and doctoral research, and serves on dissertation committees. A board-certified and licensed clinical nutritionist, Dr. Youngblood works at the intersection of clinical practice, education, and applied research, with an emphasis on integrative and functional nutrition approaches to metabolic and mental health care.

Her scholarly work is grounded in clinical practice and focuses on the translation of nutrition and metabolic science into patient-centered care models. She is particularly interested in how functional medicine-informed nutrition strategies can be applied to support psychological and psychiatric health, metabolic resilience, and symptom management in individuals with complex and chronic conditions. Rather than pursuing research in isolation, her work prioritizes clinically relevant questions, feasibility, translational science, and real-world application.

Dr. Youngblood's research background includes experience in oncology and chronic disease-related clinical trials, where she contributed to intervention development, protocol design, and participant-centered delivery models. This experience continues to inform her approach to research design, strengthening her focus on interventions that are evidence-based, scalable, and responsive to patient needs. Over time, her clinical work has increasingly shaped her research agenda, reinforcing a practice-informed approach to scholarship.

She has advanced training in ketogenic metabolic therapy, time-restricted eating (TRE), and other metabolically targeted nutrition interventions. Her academic and clinical interests explore how these approaches may influence mood, cognition, energy regulation, and overall metabolic health, particularly within psychological and psychiatric care contexts.

In addition to her academic role, Dr. Youngblood maintains an active clinical practice, providing integrative and functional nutrition care through outpatient and telehealth settings. Her interdisciplinary background includes functional nutrition, culinary medicine, and the social and cultural dimensions of food and health. Having lived for more than two decades in Mediterranean France, she brings a deep appreciation for Mediterranean food culture and the role of food, pleasure, and shared meals in sustainable health.

Dr. Youngblood serves as Associate Editor-in-Chief for Cancer Management and Research and as an Ad Hoc Reviewer for Supportive Care in Cancer, JMIR Research Protocols, and the Journal of Medical Internet Research. Through these roles, she remains actively engaged in the scientific process while contributing to rigorous, interdisciplinary scholarship that bridges research and clinical care.

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Courses Taught:

- IFN 5670: Foundations of Integrative & Functional Nutrition

- IFN 5705: The Psychobiology of Eating

- IFN 5687: Capstone Seminar in Integrative & Functional Nutrition

- IFN 5900: Integrative Approaches to Chronic Disease

- IFN 8100: Independent Study in Nutrition

- IFN 5661: Nutritional Foundations of Mental Health

- IFN 5611: Therapeutic Diets & Menu Planning