Rate My Professor Gail Kauwell

Gail Kauwell is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Sciences in the College of Health Professions and Sciences at the University of Central Florida. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in food science and human nutrition from the University of Florida, completed an accredited dietetic internship program, and holds the professional credentials of Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist (LDN), and Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (FAND).

Prior to joining UCF in fall 2019, Kauwell was a faculty member at the University of Florida for more than 36 years, retiring as Professor Emerita and Distinguished Teaching Scholar. There, she taught graduate and undergraduate courses in nutritional sciences and dietetics and served as program director for the department’s accredited Master of Science–Dietetic Internship Program. She earned numerous teaching, advising, and mentoring awards, including the University of Florida Undergraduate Teacher of the Year Award, the National USDA Excellence in Teaching Award, the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Teacher Fellow Award, and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) Graduate Teacher and Advisor of the Year Award. In 2025, she was inducted into the National Academies of Practice in recognition of exemplary interprofessional research, practice, and scholarship.

Kauwell’s research program has centered on folate and vitamin B12 requirements, assessment, and metabolism in humans, with particular emphasis on nutrient-gene interactions and epigenetic modifications in relation to health maintenance and chronic disease risk. She and her co-investigators obtained more than $3.8 million in funding, published in leading peer-reviewed nutrition journals, and secured grants to translate research findings into consumer-oriented educational products distributed free of charge through public health programs including WIC, 4-H, SNAP-Ed, and EFNEP. Kauwell has held elected and appointed leadership roles in dietetics organizations at the local, state, and national levels.

Since assuming the role of founding chair of UCF’s Department of Health Sciences in 2019—with reappointment for a second five-year term in 2024—she has overseen substantial growth, expanding faculty from 12 to 19 members amid enrollment surpassing 3,300 students in fall 2023 and conferring over 3,900 degrees in her first three years. Achievements include curriculum enhancements with new high-impact courses, increased internship opportunities, development of international study abroad programs, and launch of a new Master of Science in Health Promotion and Behavioral Science in fall 2024.