“I absolutely love my work! As a dietitian and nutrition professional, as well as a public health professional and researcher, I get to work in so many incredible different areas! I am never bored. No two days are the same. And I get to engage with so many different and amazing people, communities, and professionals. I am so lucky to have the kind of career where I can truly see the impact I am able to make and that is a reward like no other.”
These are the words of Dr. Anthony Dissen EdD, MPH, MA, RDN, CPH, a respected figure in the field of dietetics, who continues to make contributions to the ever-evolving landscape of nutrition and public health.
Presently he is a tenured assistant professor of health science in the School of Health Sciences at Stockton University and has previously taught at both Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Georgian Court University. He is also board certified in public health and regularly serves with the National Board of Public Health Examiners.
Outside of the classroom, he lends his expertise in training medical and healthcare professionals and has also become a self-appointed sleuth seeking to combat nutritional and medical misinformation primarily propagated via the web as well as on social media channels. He also has an active interest investigating topics specifically related to LGBTQ+ health and nutrition needs. His research has been published in several academic and public health journals including Healthcare, Frontiers in Public Health, Discover Education, BMC Public Health, Journal of Health Education Teaching, American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, Health Education, and Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics.
For all his achievements and contributions to the field, Dr. Dissen is most appreciative of the “opportunity for creativity and experimentation. It is a privilege to have a career that allows me to not only teach and educate, but to contribute to the peer-reviewed literature of our field. A career of the mind is a gift, and it is a daily joy to be able to dedicate so much of my time and work to advancing our field and profession forward.”
Preceding life in academia, Dr. Dissen laid a clinical and community foundation at University Medical Center of Princeton, CentraState Medical Center, and was the lead educator and chef for the Whole Foods Market Princeton Wellness Club. This fulfilling career in dietetics, according to Dr. Dissen, began as a decision he made in high school. “I was a junior in high school when I made some significant changes to how I ate, how I viewed and related to food, and how I thought about the role of nutrition as a part of my larger life. By the time I began my undergraduate education at Rutgers University, I knew that nutritional sciences were for me. When I learned more about the field of dietetics, and the role of the dietitian in the interprofessional care team, I knew immediately that this was exactly the path I was being guided to take.” And so, he matriculated into Rutgers University – New Brunswick where he earned a BS in Nutritional Sciences. He then fulfilled his dietetic internship requirements at the then UMDNJ specifically, he said, “because of its incredible reputation and its dual emphasis on both clinical and community nutrition.”
Throughout his journey, Dr. Dissen declares that the biggest challenge that he has encountered is the numerous thoughts that continue to surface from those who consider themselves experts in nutrition. “Everyone has an opinion, everyone thinks they understand science and research, and so often that leads to fighting and jockeying for position and authority. It has been quite a challenge for me to not only avoid getting exhausted and frustrated by this behavior, but to not just throw in the towel and move into a different area of work. It takes a lot of focus and determination to avoid the noise, to stay out of the chaos, and to keep going forward and promoting evidence-based research and care.”
On a personal level, whenever challenges are encountered, Dissen says he relies on the wise saying of Albert Camus: In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. “I cannot remember how this originally came to me, but I come back to it time and time again, especially when I am in a moment of difficulty or suffering. That even in the dark winter of trial, there remains within me an inextinguishable, invincible, and radiant summer that will always return.”
Despite wearing the educator’s cap, Dr. Dissen is quick to acknowledge that he is a lifelong learner who is constantly inspired by books, podcasts, and travel. He said one of the biggest lessons that he has learned from being a healthcare practitioner is “to focus on overarching patterns, not individual moments. Too much of healthcare and wellness has been coopted by this notion of hyper fixation on nitpicky little things, which often leads to greater confusion, anxiety, and is typically motivated by greed and a desire to create a personal brand. True health and wellbeing are created by what we do collectively as a whole.”
That observation serves in part as the basis for his advice to individuals interested in entering the field of dietetics. “Stay open and stay curious! The joy of this field, like so many others, is the learning and the discovery. Too often we get bogged down in absolutes and certainties, and that closes us off to new possibilities, new findings, and new directions. See the purpose of everything and try not to say things like ‘this course is pointless’ or ‘I could never do that kind of job.’ Stay open!”
It is this mindset that helps to propel Dr. Dissen beyond the halls of academia and the corridors of health institutions into the community to pay it forward to the populace. “I volunteer regularly at a GBTQ men’s retreat center in upstate New York. I am there about 4 or 5 times a year offering workshops, classes, and programs at different retreats that are focused on gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer men’s health and wellbeing. I also regularly offer programs, lectures, and workshops at some local cancer non-profits about the role of nutrition and lifestyle in cancer risk reduction and management.”
The Pennsylvania native who is also a certified yoga teacher and Qigong instructor, loves to dance for relaxation and to bake sourdough bread and craft his own wild lacto-fermentations like ginger beer, kombucha, and sauerkraut. Savoring new foods during travel is another pastime, a treat that is easy to accomplish locally in New Jersey where Dr. Dissen has been a resident for nearly twenty-five years. “I love how incredibly diverse this state is in every sense of the word! The geography, the culture, the people, the communities. There is nothing monochromatic about this state! I do live right outside of Philadelphia, so I also enjoy that I can quickly get into Philly from where I live, and I also enjoy how quickly I can get to New York or DC from here. So, it is also a state that allows us to easily travel to some pretty important cities and districts as well. I also love that I can be in the mountains, in the forest, or at the beach all while staying in the same state. Just incredible!”
