How a master’s student in nutrition applied her learning to redesign a continuing education course for healthcare professionals.
Georgia Meireles
Learning in Action: Ana Lopes’ Internship Experience in Lifestyle Medicine Education
Ana Lopes’ interest in nutrition began at home. “My earliest connection to nutrition was watching my mom struggle with her weight,” she says. “I saw her cycle through restrictive diets and the frustration of not achieving lasting change. I realized the issue wasn’t just what she ate, but how and why. Real change meant understanding behavior, not simply prescribing rules.”
That curiosity grew into a deeper interest in public health when Ana entered college for Nutrition Sciences in Brazil. “As a Dietitian, I realized how nutrition intersects with social inequities, chronic diseases, and food systems. That experience showed me how science, public health, and communication could come together to change behavior, and not just individual choices, but population-level outcomes."
"It was the moment I understood that nutrition could be both a clinical tool and a form of social impact.”
Building a Foundation in Brazil
As an undergraduate, Ana researched the metabolic effects of Copaíba oil in a Type 1 diabetes model and co-founded Panela Aberta, a nutrition education project that disseminated the Brazilian Dietary Guidelines using a replicable workshop model. “We partnered with the state government and talked to students about why their lunches were changing,” she recalls. “It was about making nutrition relatable.” Ana became a registered dietitian and spent two years in clinical practice, applying a holistic approach to counseling.
Those experiences shaped her next step: Tufts. “I wanted to design interventions and research that could shift systems, not just individual outcomes,” Ana says. Moving to the U.S. wasn’t easy—leaving Brazil, navigating cultural challenges, and rebuilding her life required resilience. “But every step reinforced that this was the right path.”
Turning Knowledge into Action: The ACLM Internship
This past summer, as part of her MS requirement, Ana joined the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) as a full-time remote intern in the Education Department. ACLM is the leading professional society for clinicians advancing lifestyle medicine as the foundation of healthcare, promoting prevention, treatment, and reversal of chronic disease through evidence-based interventions.
Ana’s main project was ambitious: redesigning an 18-hour, CME/CE-accredited online course titled Remission of Type 2 Diabetes and Reversal of Insulin Resistance. The course equips physicians, dietitians, nurses, and health coaches to help patients achieve remission through lifestyle interventions. The update was prompted by ACLM’s newly published Clinical Practice Guideline and its 14 Key Action Statements.
“They gave me a lot of autonomy—I mapped out the content, proposed a new structure, and shared my perspective in meetings. They really valued what I brought from Tufts—especially my background in communication strategies and behavior change.”
Her work resulted in a new structured outline, updated modules, and improved learner experience. The first two modules will be rolled out this winter, with a plan to relaunch the entire course in the fall of 2026. The goal is to expand the course’s reach from approximately 300 learners per year to 500, ensuring that more healthcare professionals are equipped to integrate lifestyle medicine into their practice.
Looking Ahead
Ana’s passion is clear: “I love nutrition community interventions and evaluating public health programs,” she says. “But I also love developing curriculum for other professionals. I’m very interested in how to mix interventions and education. Throughout my master’s I’ve been exposed to a lot of new things. Right now I’m seeing lots of new possibilities.”
Her advice for future Friedman students?
“Embrace the interdisciplinary nature of Friedman and remain open to transformation. Your interests will evolve as you’re exposed to new perspectives, and that’s part of the experience. Engage deeply with faculty and peers, because their mentorship and collaboration will shape your trajectory in unexpected ways. Bring your lived experiences into the classroom because they matter, and they enrich the school’s diversity of thought. And finally, be prepared to work hard, but also to grow. My time at Friedman has been both academically rigorous and personally meaningful, and I would encourage incoming students to fully immerse themselves in the opportunities, communities, and conversations this school makes possible.”
Ana’s experience demonstrates how knowledge can be built into action. By transforming evidence into educational materials, she is helping create a future where healthcare professionals are equipped to drive real change.
