March is National Nutrition Month and Wednesday, March 10 is National Registered Dietitian (R.D.) Day. In honor of this occasion, we would like to recognize two of our Clinical Nutrition Services staff. Leah Kittle, MS,RD,LDN,CNSC and Linda Quimby, MS,RD,LDN recently have been recognized by the Knoxville District Dietetic Association (KDDA).

KDDA is the local district of the Tennessee Dietetic Association, which is an affiliate of the American Dietetic Association. KDDA has 200+ members in the Knoxville healthcare community. Leah and Linda were nominated and selected by their peers for their outstanding leadership and dedication to the dietetics profession. Both registered dietitians will be recognized at the May 11, 2010, KDDA Awards ceremony. Leah will be awarded the "Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year" and Linda the "Emerging Dietetic Leader." 

Leah M. Kittle, MS,RD,LDN,CNSC
Leah Kittle joined the Clinical Nutrition Services staff in August 2006. She completed her undergraduate in Dietetics from Carson-Newman College. Kittle completed a dietetic internship and graduate degree in Nutrition Science/Public Health Nutrition at the University of Tennessee. She was selected to present her original thesis research at the 2008 American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference held in Chicago. Leah gives frequent interviews for the local news media and will be featured again this year during National Nutrition Month. She is currently one of our Metabolic Support Specialist and is a board Certified Nutrition Support Clinician (CNSC). She is an active member of the Knoxville District Dietetic Association (KDDA) where she has served on the Board of Directors for the past two years. Ms. Kittle has just recently been awarded the 2009-2010 Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year by KDDA. Leah enjoys trying out new recipes, reading and movies.

Linda L. Quimby, MS,RD,LDN
Linda joined the Clinical Nutrition Services staff in June 2006. She has a B.A. in Microbiology and a M.S. in Nutritional Science from the University of New Hampshire. Mrs.Quimby also completed her Dietetic Internship at the University of New Hampshire. She is currently the clinical nutrition stroke and cardiac specialist for 7 South and 7 East. Linda was invited to present at the First Annual Stroke Symposium held here in Knoxville in August 2008. She discussed nutrition education for the prevention of stroke. The symposium is sponsored by the UT Medical Center Brain and Spine Institute. Linda will be presenting again this fall with a speech and language pathologist addressing the needs of the dysphagia patient. She is an active member of the Knoxville District Dietetic Association (KDDA) where she has served on the Board of Directors for the past two years. She is also active in her national American Dietetic Association (ADA) Dietetic Practice Group (DPG) Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) where she serves on the dysphagia planning committee. Mrs. Quimby has just recently been awarded the 2009 -2010 Emerging Dietetic Leader Award for KDDA. Linda has two grown children, Michelle and Jonathan. She and her husband, Bruce live in Maryville where she enjoys early morning walks with Jax, her minature schnauzer.