
Left photo: Associate Professor David Edens with Assistant Professors Emily Kiresich
and Fatheema Subhan; Right photo: Hadis Rezaei and CAND President Sangeeta Shrivastava
Two nutrition graduate students and a faculty member received awards at a recent California Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics (CAND) annual conference.
Associate Professor David Edens received the Meritorious Service Award, while graduate student Hadis Reizei was named the Outstanding Student in a Dietetics Program.
Graduate student Taneshi Noel took second place in the poster competition for her work on “Evaluating a Traffic Light Food Labeling System to Improve Dietary Choices and Address Nutritional Disparities in a Campus Food Pantry.”

Rezaei and another student, Gladys Fremont, also participated in the poster competition.
The conference was held April 24-26 in Long Beach.
The academy is a nonprofit association consisting of about 6,000 registered dietitian nutritionists, nutrition dietetic technicians registered, and students who advance the dietetic profession through research, education, and advocacy.
Cal Poly Pomona’s Department of Nutrition & Food Science is well represented at the academy:
- Lecturer Sangeeta Shrivastava was the CAND 2024-25 president
- Assistant Professor Emily Kiresich was the CAND 2024-25 vice president of education and will serve as the 2025-26 district liaison
- Assistant Professor Fatheema Subhan, who was the 2024-25 LA Region chair, will succeed Kiresich as vice president of education
- Assistant Professor Kellene Isom is a CAND Foundation board member
- Lecturer Rachel Flores is a CAND Nominating Committee member
- Taneshi Noel is a CAND LA Region Student Council and CAND Foundation member.
- Hadis Rezaei is a CAND Communications Council member.