Expertise
- Gut Health
- Sport Nutrition
- Client-Centered Coaching
- Weight Neutral Health Coaching
Education
- PhD – Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech (2014)
- Graduate Certificate—Preparing the Future Professoriate, Virginia Tech (2014)
- Graduate Teaching Scholars Fellowship, Virginia Tech (2012-2014)
- BS – Exercise, Sport, and Health Education, Radford Virginia (2009)
Highlights
- Owner of VitaminPhD Nutrition, LLC
- ACE Certified Health Coach
- Trained in Motivational Interviewing & Monash Low-FODMAP
- Author, The Science of Gut Health: What the Research Really Says About Your Gut Microbiome
Experience
Gabrielle Fundaro is an ACE-certified Health Coach trained in motivational interviewing, sport nutrition, and the Monash Low-FODMAP program. A former Assistant Professor of Exercise Science at Georgia Gwinnett College, she holds a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise from Virginia Tech as well as a BS in Exercise, Sport, and Health Education from Radford University.
After leaving academia in 2017, she enjoyed four years as a Renaissance Periodization Nutrition Coach while launching her current telehealth coaching business, Vitamin Ph.D. Nutrition. In 2021, she transitioned to running Vitamin Ph.D. Nutrition full-time while working part-time as a researcher for Examine.com and collaborating with Shannon Beer, LLB, in their joint venture, Bridging the Gap with Comprehensive Coaching. Currently, she’s also a writer for BarBend.com and an editor at FeastGood.com.
As a board member of both the Nutrition Coaching Global Mastermind (NCGM) and the Sports Nutrition Association (SNA), Gabrielle collaborates with a selection of colleagues to guide discussions and change toward best practices in the online nutrition coaching industry.
Gabrielle has been featured as an international speaker on gut health and behavior change and also been featured in Shape, Oxygen, and Reader’s Digest magazines as well as Precision Nutrition. She is the author of The Science of Gut Health: What the Research Really Says About Your Gut Microbiome.
Education
Gabrielle earned a BS in Exercise, Sport, and Health Education from Radford University in 2009 before completing an internship under Dr. Matthew Hulver in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech. There, she began researching skeletal muscle metabolism, which became the focus of her doctoral studies the following year. Her dissertation focused on the role of the gut microbiome and probiotics on skeletal muscle metabolism in rodent models of obesity.
During her graduate studies, she earned an additional graduate certificate and completed a fellowship in the science of teaching and learning, which piqued her early curiosity about motivation and behavior change.
After leaving academia to pursue coaching full-time, Gabrielle completed the ACE Certified Health Coach program, followed by additional intermediate and advanced training in Motivational Interviewing. She also completed the Monash Low-FODMAP training and earned the International Society of Sport Nutrition (ISSN) sport nutritionist certification.