Dr. Enza Gucciardi

Dr. Enza Gucciardi is an Associate Professor in the School of Nutrition at Ryerson University. She has an undergraduate degree in Nutritional Sciences from Ryerson University, a master's degree in Community Health and Epidemiology from the Department of Public Health Sciences and a PhD from the Institute of Medical Sciences, both from the University of Toronto. Gucciardi's program of research addresses the current challenges of delivering effective self-management support to the increasing population of Canadians with diabetes. She primarily focuses on diabetes self-management practices, the participation and delivery of diabetes self-management education and support programs, and the use, coordination and integration of diabetes management resources and services across the healthcare system. She also researches the intersection of food insecurity and diabetes self-management, developing strategies for care providers to better support self-management among this vulnerable population.  The objective is to make a valuable contribution to better support and care for those living with diabetes, by directing how diabetes care and self-management education are developed and delivered, in turn, reducing the burden of diabetes in Canada and globally. A new branch of research she is currently undertaking is to evaluate interventions that can potentially help prevent chronic diseases, such as obesity which is a major risk factor for diabetes, by targeting healthy eating and food skills in adults and children. Gucciardi adopts an interdisciplinary approach and uses mixed-methodologies in her research.