Kelsey Rushing earned her undergraduate degree in nutrition and dietetics from Auburn University in Auburn, AL. While at Auburn, she had the opportunity to work with the performance nutrition team, which spurred her interest in working with athletes. She then went on to complete a dietetic internship, in which she completed all credentialing requirements to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and earn a master’s degree in nutrition sciences with a concentration in clinical nutrition from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in Birmingham, AL. During her master’s, Rushing developed an interest in research and decided to remain at UAB to pursue a doctoral degree. Her research revolved around the prevention and treatment of sports-related concussions and chronic diseases, such as obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), using nutrition-based interventions. Her dissertation research primarily focused on improving our understanding of the effects of exogenous ketone esters on components of energy balance and glucose/lipid metabolism. During her pre-doctoral training, Rushing also worked as a performance dietitian with UAB athletics, which is where she found her passion for educating and working with college students. She expanded on this and became the instructor of record for several classes while she completed her doctoral degree. In 2023 Rushing joined the Nutrition and Exercise Physiology faculty as an assistant teaching professor and director of the accelerated coordinated master’s program in dietetics.

Education

• Ph.D., Alabama at Birmingham, AL