Sahar Ajabshir, an assistant professor in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine (HWCOM)’s Department of Cellular Biology & Pharmacology, was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for the American Society for Nutrition (ASN), a leading global authority in nutrition science. She will serve as the Board’s Early Career Nutrition Representative, the second in the nation assuming this position.
“I am honored to represent FIU at the national level,” she says. In keeping with her dedication to her field, Ajabshir has taken multiple executive roles within ASN including Chair of the Vitamins & Minerals Research Interest Section, At-Large Delegate of the Medical Nutrition Council`s Governing Committee, Secretary of the Obesity Research Interest Section, and Chair of the Early Career Nutrition Group. In general, an early career professional is someone within a ten-year period of completing their terminal degree.
“I look forward to advocating for my early career peers interests at the national level, expanding career development opportunities for them, and helping with furthering the advancement of their careers.”
Most recently, as the chair of the ASN`s Early Career Nutrition Interest Group, Ajabshir developed the first-ever strategic plan, making sure to highlight advancing diversity, inclusion, and equity as one of the main goals.
A graduate of FIU Academy of Leaders, Ajabshir has been directing more than twenty executive board members across the nation and formed eight implementation groups, which focused on various projects such as the development of the first leadership academy for early career professionals in nutrition research, the first seed funding program, a spotlight program, and a nationwide mentorship program for early career professionals in nutrition which was inspired by the FIU Faculty Mentor Program (FMP).
“I am where I am today because of the guidance, support, and dedication of my mentors,” she says. “They believed in me in the most trying moments and helped me to remain encouraged, focused, and inspired. I am forever grateful for their guidance, support, and inspiration.”
She also created the position of Chair of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity to oversee the diversity and inclusion efforts both nationally and internationally, and tasked each of the eight implementation groups to indicate in their program planning how they would address diversity and inclusion.
Ajabshir credits FIU for helping her develop her leadership skills, which will be invaluable in her new role. She is a graduate of FIU Academy of Graduates for Integrative Learning Experiences (AGILE), and a selected participant of the Future of Workforce Worlds Ahead Leadership program, organized by FIU in Washington DC. She has served in FIU’s university-wide strategic planning committees in 2015, 2018, and 2020. She was mentored by a Fellow of ASN, Dr. Fatma Huffman, during her graduate studies.
She also credits the FMP, which she says “has been instrumental in giving me incredible opportunities to connect with my wonderful mentors in a structured platform and helped me in sharpening my professional skills by offering various workshops/trainings, including the Bystander Leadership Program.”
Ajabshir’s dedication to both nutrition and mentorship is also apparent in her work. She is the principal investigator of several funded projects and just developed the first-ever medical nutrition clerkship course for HWCOM. The course is designed to provide advanced training in medical nutrition for fourth-year medical students which employs a hands-on approach for the prevention and treatment of common nutrition-related diseases and conditions across life-span.
“The main objective is to assist students in building a strong foundation in nutrition to improve patients` health in their medical practices while enhancing their interprofessional skills.”
