Samantha Coogan

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Program Director, Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics; Lecturer

Expertise: Diet, Human nutrition, Food science, Lifecycle nutrition, Community nutrition, Food & ethnic issues

Biography

Samantha Coogan joined the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences in Fall 2014 as a part-time instructor. Two years later, she increased her teaching load as a Visiting Lecturer. She is now a Full Lecturer within the KNS Department and serves as the Program Director for the Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (DPND).

In 2020, Coogan received the UNLV Academic Assessment (Individual) Award for her dedication to meaningful and sustainable academic assessment data tracking and reporting efforts.

Coogan teaches human nutrition, sports nutrition, nutrition, health & ethnic issues, food science, nutrition assessment, medical nutrition therapy (MNT), and pathophysiology within the B.S. in Nutrition Sciences undergraduate program.

Coogan earned her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Sciences and Master of Science in Exercise Physiology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has been a registered dietitian nutritionist since 2014 (licensed in NV).

Coogan is a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is a past president of the Nevada Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Nevada Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and Nutrition and Dietetic Educators and Preceptors practice group.

Education

M.S., Exercise Physiology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
B.S., Nutrition Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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Samantha Coogan In The News

What’s the Deal with Creatine?

Morning Chalk Up

Head to any workout supplement store and you will likely see a whole section devoted to this supplement–brightly colored, snazzy cans promising things like “pump,” “maximizing volume” and “increasing power output.” Athletes have made creatine a benchmark staple, a daily add to their list of nutritional intake, but the question remains, just what is creatine?

The Long, Winding Path of Wine as Medicine

Wine Enthusiast

As the Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, ravaged Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s, people became increasingly desperate for any iota of respite. Some tried blood-letting. Others opted for rubbing onions—or, in some cases, a chopped snake—directly onto their infected boils.

GUT INSTINCT: THERE’S A WHOLE UNIVERSE IN YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. LEARN TO BE ITS MASTER

The theme song of an ’80s sitcom goes, “You take the good, you take the bad/You take them both and there you have/The facts of life.” The same can be said of our gut microbiome, the complex system—comprising 300 to 500 species of good and bad bacteria—that affects not just our digestive system but also has links to mental health, autoimmune diseases, endocrine disorders, cancer and more.

SENSIBLE SNACKING TIPS FROM A UNLV NUTRITION EXPERT

The pandemic has done a number on our stomachs. We’re mostly stuck at home—whether working remotely or just staying safe in quarantine. And it’s too easy to just snack all day.