Sturzebecker Health Sciences Center
855 S. New Street
West Chester, PA 19383
Dr. Christine Karpinski
Chair of Nutrition
Phone: 610-430-4406
Email: CKarpinski@wcupa.edu
Dr. Mary Beth Gilboy
Graduate Coordinator
Phone: 610-738-0559
Email: MGilboy@wcupa.edu
Dr. Joanne Christaldi
Director, DPD Concentration (Undergraduate)
Phone: 610-436-1038
Email: JChristaldi@wcupa.edu
Dr. Kimberly Johnson
Director, Sustainable Food Systems
Management Concentration (Undergraduate)
Phone: 610-436-2215
Email: KJohnson4@wcupa.edu
Dr. Alessandra Sarcona
Director, Lifestyle Nutrition Concentration (Undergraduate)
Phone: 610-436-2483
Email: ASarcona@wcupa.edu
Becky Wojcik MA, RDN, LDN, Dietetic Internship Director,
610-436-2264
Dr. Mary Beth Gilboy PhD, MPH, RDN, LDN, Associate Professor of Nutrition &
Graduate Coordinator
Evan Daney Assistant Director, Graduate Recruitment & Admissions
This culminating capstone course encompasses the completion of a systematic review. Each week of the course requires building a section of the review. The first step is developing and formulating a research question by identifying gaps in the research and needs in the area of nutrition. It is encouraged that students choose a topic of interest. The research question needs to be very specific and will be answered through a thorough review of peer-reviewed journal articles. In addition to creating a research question and a systematic process of finding relevant journal articles, students will complete a data extraction table where each article will be outlined. The quality of each article will also be reviewed using a quality criteria checklist. The results of the studies will be synthesized followed by a discussion and conclusion. The final paper results are presented to the course instructor and invited faculty.
Numerous students have presented their systematic review papers at the West Chester University Research Day. Some topics have included: