Virginia Stage, PhD, RDN

Bio

Dr. Virginia Stage is a Registered Dietitian, Nutrition Education & Behavior Specialist, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Agriculture and Human Sciences at NC State University. From the kitchen to the classroom, Dr. Stage’s mission is to empower early childhood teachers and families with evidence-based strategies to improve children’s dietary quality through early education, exposure, and access to healthy foods. Over the years, she has worked with 300+ P-8 teachers nationwide on how to improve food and nutrition learning environments in school settings using qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. She also has experience writing and developing integrative nutrition education curricular resources and collaborating with P-8 upper-level administration, teachers, and students.

Programs and Initiatives

• The Food-based Early Education Lab
• More PEAS Please!

Contributing Websites

• https://www.thefeedlab.org
• https://www.morepeasplease.org

Professional Honors/Offices/Recognitions

• Present-2019: Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN)
• Present-2019: Early Childhood Working Group focused on BMI Measurement in Head Start Co-Chair
• 2022-2023: Society for Nutrition Education & Behavior Children’s Research Division Chair Elect
• 2022-2023: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Editor-in-Chief Search Committee Immediate Past Chair
• 2022: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Best Brief Article Award [Finalist]
• 2022: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Silver Author Recognition Award
• 2022: North Carolina State University Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences’ Outstanding Young Alumna Award
• 2022: East Carolina University Graduate School Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award
• 2021-2022: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Editor-in-Chief Search Committee Chair
• 2019: North Carolina Head Start Association (NCHSA) Special Recognition Award
• 2018: Society for Nutrition Education & Behavior’s Early Career Award
• 2017: North Carolina Dietetic Association’s Outstanding Dietetic Educator Award
• 2009: North Carolina Dietetic Association’s Young Dietitian of the Year

Selected Publications

• Shefet, D., Nicely, S., Miller, B., Powell, S. & Stage, V.C. (2022). My Child is Overweight, Now What? How Head Start Communicates with Families about Childhood Obesity. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2022.09.001
• Miller, E.M., Nicely, S., Trimbach, K., Shefet, D., Stage, V.C. (2022). Measuring, Tracking, and Reporting BMI in Head Start: Perceptions of Health and Nutrition Managers. Health Education & Behavior. http://doi.org/10.117/10901981221131264
• Diaz Rios, K., Stage, V.C., Leak, T., Taylor, C., & Reicks, M. (2022). Collecting, Using, and Reporting Race and Ethnicity Information: Implications for Research in Nutrition Education, Practice, and Policy. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior, 54(6), 582-593. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2022.01.006
• Tovar, A., Miller, B, Stage, V.C., Hoffman, J., Guseman, E.H., Sisson, S.B., Shefet, D.*, Benhamin-Neelon, S., Swindle, T., Hasin, S., & Beltrain, M. (2022). BMI Data Collection and Communication in a Multi-State Sample of Head Start. Childhood Obesity. http://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2021.0199
• Dev, D., Padasas, I., Hillburn, C., Stage, V.C., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2020).Using the RE-AIM Framework in Formative Evaluation of the EAT Family Style Multilevel Intervention. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior, 46(1), 34-42. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-87491/v1
• Elrakaiby, M., Hasnin, S., Stage, V.C., & Dev, D. (2021). ‘Read for Nutrition’ Program Improves Preschool Children’s Vegetable Preference and Consumption in Childe Care. Journal of Public Health Nutrition, 25(5), 1346-1354. http://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980021004985
• Radtke, M., Poe, M., Stookey, J., Jilcott Pitts, S., Moran, N.E., Landry, M.J., Rubin, L.P., Stage, V.C., & Scherr, R. (2021). Recommendations for the Use of the Veggie Meter for Spectroscopy-based Skin Carotenoid Measurements in the Research Setting. Current Developments in Nutrition, 5(8). https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzab104
• Stage, V., Goodell, L.S., Chase, S., MacDonald, S., Hegde, A., Bayles, J.*, & Jones, L. (2021). Eating Smart, Moving More for Head Start: A Pilot Study. Journal of Extension, 59(1),1-8. http://doi.org/10.34068/joe.59.01.05
• Bayles, J., Peterson, A., Hedge, A., Jilcott Pitts, S., & Stage, V.C. (2021). Food-based Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Learning Activities May Reduce Decline in Preschoolers’ Skin Carotenoids Status. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2020.10.017
• Burkholder, S., Jilcott Pitts, S., Bayles, J., Baybutt, R., & Stage, V.C. (2021). Skin Carotenoid Levels Over Time and Differences by Age and Sex Among Head Start Children (3-5 years) Living in Eastern North Carolina. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior, 53(2), 103-109. http://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305980

View More Publications

Grants

• More PEAS Please! Building a Partnership for Science Education with Teachers and Underrepresented Minority Preschool Children
  Date: 06/13/2019 – 5/31/2025
  Amount: $1,332,774
  Funding Agencies: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA)

• Bilingualtek: Multimedia Assisted Language-based Science Learning for Latino Preschoolers
  Date: 08/2021 – 07/2026
  Amount: $1,600,000
  Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF) K-12 Discovery Award

Area(s) of Expertise

• Nutrition Education & Behavior Change Support for Young Children and Families
• School-based Nutrition Education Interventions
• Food/Nutrition as a Classroom Teaching Tool and Teacher Professional Development
• Integrating STEM and Food/Nutrition Education
• PSE (Policy, Systems, Environmental) Change