Kelsey Gardiner, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Bachelors of Health Studies program in the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Missouri Kansas City. She received both her Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the University of Kansas (KU) studying Health Education and Exercise Psychology with a focus on nutrition and physical activity. She has previous experience working at the community level to enhance community health through coalition leadership and community health improvement planning. Her research has been focused mostly on community and public health nutrition. This encompasses food systems, healthy eating behaviors, food insecurity and access to healthy foods, and food as a social determinant of health. Currently she is focused on community and clinical linkages for healthy food access through a food is medicine approach. She has served as a research mentor for a variety undergraduate student throughout her career and has support them from project inception through to scholarly presentations. She is also actively engaged in both local and national service as an active member of the UMKC Food Insecurity Committee, Missouri Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Committee, the Community and Public Health Nutrition Research Interest Group with the American Society of Nutrition, and chair of the Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition (MOCAN) Food systems work group, a state-wide coalition group.
Health Policy and Ethics, Personal Health and Wellness, Health Aspects of Agining, Global Health
2021 Summer Research Award, Graduate Studies, University of Kansas ($6,000). Primary Investigator
2021 Wayne Osness Outstanding Doctoral Student Award, Health Sport and Exercise Science Department ($1200)
2020 LiveWell Douglas County Pathways to a Healthy Kansas Grant, Blue Cross Shield of Kansas ($200,000). Co-Investigator
2020 Increasing Food Security and Access to Healthy Food for Douglas County Children and Youth, Douglas County Community Foundation LiveWell Grant ($10,000) . Co-Investigator
2019 Summer Research Award, Graduate Studies, University of Kansas ($5,000). Primary Investigator
2018 Stock Healthy Shop Healthy: Healthy Corner Store Initiative, Douglas County Community Foundation LiveWell Grant ($9,000). Co-Investigator
Lightner, J.S., Ziegler, N., Gardiner, K., Collie-Akers, V. (2023). Community health improvement plans and physical activity implementation strategies: findings from a cross-sectional survey of US local health departments. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 29(2):120-127. Doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001696.
Harvey, S., Fortin, K., Jo, S., Holden, K. Kapukotuwa, M., (2022) COVID-19 Communications: Understanding the College Student Experience and Response to On-campus COVID-19 Public Health Messaging. J Public Health Dis Prev 5: 103. http://article.scholarena.com/COVID-19-Communications-Understanding-the-College.pdf
Lightner, J. S., McKinney, L., Hoppe, K., Ziegler, N., Gardiner, K., Clardy, S., Prochnow, T., & Collie-Akers, V. (2022). Community health improvement plan: Study protocol for Kansas City's intervention and implementation evaluation. Public Health in Practice, 4, 100340. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2022.100340
Fortin, K.; Harvey, S. (2021). Hunger and Health: Taking a Formative Approach to Build a Health Intervention Focused on Nutrition and Physical Activity Needs as Perceived by Stakeholders. Nutrients 2021, 13, 1584. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13051584.
Fortin K., Harvey S., Swearingen White S. (2020). Hidden Hunger: Understanding the complexity of food insecurity among college students. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. DOI 10.1080/07315724.2020.1754304. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2020.1754304 .
CDC-RFA-DP-23-0014 (2023- 2028). Communities leading change: Advancing Black and Latino capacity to create nutrition and physical activity environmental and systems change. PI: Lightner, J., Grimes, A., Shook, R. Co-I: Gardiner, K. Britt-Rankin, J. $719,008 (Year 1)
Health Forward Foundation (2023-2024). FoodFARMacy. PI: Gardiner, K. Co-I: Rhone, J., Garcia, R. $200,000.
Missouri Foundation for Health (2022-2023). An examination of SNAP resources needed for college administrators and nutrition program associates in Missouri. PI: Rodman, C. Chrisman, M. Co-I: Gardiner, K. Gremaud, A, Cullers, A. $25,984
Fahs-Beck Fund, (2021-2024). SNAP Awareness and Education in Missouri College Students. PI: Chrisman, M. Cullers, A.Co-I: Gardiner, K. Gremaud, A, Rodman, C. $24,695
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas (2020-2023) LiveWell Douglas County Pathways to a Healthy Kansas Grant, Blue Cross Shield of Kansas, PI: Bates, M. Co-I: Gardiner, K. $200,000
Douglas County Community Foundation LiveWell Grant (2020-2021). Increasing Food Security and Access to Healthy Food for Douglas County Children and Youth. PI: Gardiner, K. $10,000
B.S.Ed., University of Kansas
M.S.Ed., University of Kansas
P.h.D., University of Kansas