Dr. Sarah Johnson

Associate Professor
422 Sandels Building
sba07@fsu.edu
Nutrition and Food Science

Interests

My research program applies clinical and translational approaches to develop food and nutritional interventions and evaluate how nutritional interventions, particularly phytochemical-rich, high–nutritional quality functional foods, promote cardiometabolic health and reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk with aging. Populations of interest include healthy adults, middle-aged and older adults, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, and individuals with risk factors such as hypertension or obesity. I am particularly interested in how foods such as blueberries, microgreens, and other interventions (e.g., probiotics, dietary patterns, lifestyle) influence key determinants of cardiovascular health, including endothelial function, arterial stiffness, blood pressure, oxidative stress, inflammation, metabolism, and gut health. A central emphasis of my work is understanding how the gut microbiome shapes both cardiometabolic health and responses to dietary polyphenols by integrating human clinical trials with -omics technologies, and other mechanistic approaches. Guided by a multidisciplinary “plants-to-health” philosophy that spans agriculture, food science, nutrition, physiology, biomedical sciences, consumers, and public health, my research aims to identify promising high nutritional quality foods and therapeutic dietary strategies, evaluate their clinical efficacy, uncover factors contributing to inter-individual variability, and ultimately develop evidence-based, food-focused approaches that promote healthy aging and reduce chronic disease risk.

Education

  • Postdoctoral Training, Clinical Nutrition and Vascular Physiology (Florida State University, 2013-2015)
  • PhD, Nutrition and Food Science (Florida State University, 2009-2013)
  • Dietetic Internship (Florida State University, 2007-2008)
  • MS, Nutrition and Food Science with a Dietetic Internship (Florida State University, 2007-2008)
  • BS, Nutrition and Food Sciences; Dietetics (The University of Vermont, 2002-2007)

Publications and Other Scholarly Activities

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SiAlAugAAAAJ&hl=en

Accomplishments

  • NIH Loan Repayment Program Award (Renewal Award), Clinical Research Program, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health (2025-2027)
  • Distinction in Research – Clinical and Translational Science Category, College of Health and Human Sciences Research Day, Colorado State University (2024)
  • NIH Loan Repayment Program Award, Clinical Research Program, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health (2023-2025)
  • Top Reviewer Award, The Journal of Nutrition, American Society for Nutrition (2023)
  • Emerging Leaders Network Award, Institute of Food Technologists (2018)
  • Abbott Nutrition Award in Women’s Health, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2018)
  • Junior Faculty Author Award, Research Dietetics Practice Group, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2015)
  • 1st Place, poster presentation competition for “Life Sciences” at the 2014 FSU Postdoctoral Scholars Symposium (2014)
  • Clinical Emerging Leader Award, Medical Nutrition Council, American Society for Nutrition (2014)
  • Dissertation Research Grant Award, The Graduate School, Florida State University (2013)
  • College of Human Sciences Dissertation Award, Florida State University (2013)
  • FNCE Student Stipend, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation (2013)
  • Congress of Graduate Students Travel Award, Florida State University (2013)
  • Jean A. Reutlinger and Lillian H. Munn Scholarship, Department of Nutrition, Food, and Exercise Sciences, Florida State University (2013)
  • ON DPG Professional Development Award, Oncology Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2012)
  • Travel Award, Office of Dietary Supplements and American Society for Nutrition (2012)
  • Congress of Graduate Students Travel Award, Florida State University (2012)
  • Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society, Florida State University (2010)
  • Matthew Tansey Memorial Scholarship Award, New Leaf Market, Tallahassee, Florida (2008)
  • Cornelia Wheeler Irish Memorial Scholarship Award, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont (2007)
  • University of Vermont Summer Practicum Scholarship, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont (2006)