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Kelly Cara, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Population Science
Why I Work at ACS
Leaving work one day, I overheard two ladies talking about cancer, and one said, ¡®Well, I guess we¡¯ll all get it someday,¡¯ then they both laughed. I realized in that moment how normalized cancer had become, despite how devastating the disease had been for several of my family members, mentors, and co-workers. I knew I had to do my part to help investigate ways we can all reduce our risk of getting cancer and to educate others.¡±
At ACS since 2024
Kelly Cara, PhD, is a post-doctoral fellow in the Population Science department at the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ Cancer Society (ACS) through a joint appointment with the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University.?Using data?from the Cancer Prevention Study (CPS) cohorts, her research focuses on how plant-based dietary patterns contribute to cancer prevention and whether they increase or decrease the risk of developing cancer
Research focus and accomplishments
The heart of my work as a nutrition researcher, educator, and health-supportive chef is my desire to empower people to continuously improve their own health and well-being through lifestyle and behavior changes rooted in sound, scientific evidence.
My primary research interest is on how following a?healthy diet over time impacts a person¡¯s health. My doctoral research focused on the role of diet in cognitive outcomes including global cognitive ability, cognitive reserve, and cognitive decline typical of Alzheimer¡¯s disease and related dementias.?At ACS, my focus will turn to cancer-related outcomes and risk factors associated with cancer in the CPS cohorts.
I also have extensive experience conducting systematic literature reviews to inform health and nutrition policy. Of note, I was involved in a large and subsequent that supported the joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) nutrient requirement updates for children aged 0 to 36?months.
In more than a dozen other reviews, I have examined whether certain nutrients, food components, and dietary patterns are associated with health outcomes and overall diet quality.
I was recently honored to receive the award from the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ Society for Nutrition publication, Advances in Nutrition.
Publications
For Dr. Cara's publications, visit her , , and .
Contact?
- kelly.cara@cancer.org
- 404-248-6364
Work Before ACS
- Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant
- ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ College of Lifestyle Medicine, Independent Research Consultant
- InsideTracker, Behavioral Scientist and Data Science Intern
- Austin V-Life LLC, Co-Founder and Lifestyle Wellness Educator
- Optimum Health Institute, Curriculum Facilitator and Food Service Worker II
- Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts, Lead Chef Instructor
- Better Bites Bakery, Quality Improvement and Management Consultant and Bakery Manager
- Missouri State University, Assessment Research Coordinator and Adjunct Faculty
- Lakeland Regional Hospital, Performance Improvement and Risk Management Coordinator
Education
- PhD:?Nutrition Epidemiology and Data Science, ?Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, 2020-2024
- MS:?Nutrition Epidemiology and Data Science, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, 2018-2020
- Certificate: Plant-based Chef, Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts, 2014-2015
- MS: Psychology - Experimental Track, Missouri State University, 2007-2009
Personal
I live in Atlanta, GA, with my husband of 15+ years and our four surviving house plants. We enjoy traversing the city on foot and exploring new grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and movie theaters. At home, I play, sing, and write music, and lately, you can also find me watching food or fashion competition shows and pretending to be a barista.