{"id":68477,"date":"2024-11-13T14:59:58","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T19:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/?p=68477"},"modified":"2024-12-06T11:18:34","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T16:18:34","slug":"featured-staff-member-cassandra-donahue-rdn-ldn-cdces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/news\/featured-staff-member-cassandra-donahue-rdn-ldn-cdces\/","title":{"rendered":"Featured Staff Member: Cassandra Donahue, RDN, LDN, CDCES"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet Cassandra Donahue, RDN, LDN, CDCES, A research coordinator and dietician from the city with the largest gathering of twins in America!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

What\u2019s your role and how long have you been a part of our department?<\/h2>\n

I work as a Clinical Research Coordinator \/ Registered Dietitian in the Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Obesity Clinical Research Unit. I was hired in 2021 and celebrated my 3-year mark in July!<\/p>\n

Where are you from?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

I am from Twinsburg, Ohio but grew up in Virginia!<\/p>\n

What originally attracted you to work at ºÚÁÏÍø Department of Medicine?<\/h2>\n

I have always wanted to live in North Carolina and recognize the prestige of ºÚÁÏÍø, but I felt really excited by the opportunity to work in a department that provides continual breakthroughs in medicine.<\/p>\n

What is the most interesting project you’ve been a part of so far?<\/h2>\n

I have had the pleasure of working on a multitude of research studies here within the EnDO CRU which is one of the coolest parts of the job. I have been able to be a part of innovation in diabetes research in working on investigatorinitiated projects with Dr. Janice Hwang on her clamp studies and then also get to coordinate industry studies such as SELECT which was a five-year study that validated the effectiveness of GLPs in heart disease under Dr. John Buse. I work closely with Dr. Klara Klein now on several type two diabetes studies. It\u2019s hard to pick a favorite project because they are all so different!<\/p>\n

What do you enjoy most about working here?<\/h2>\n

I LOVE the relationships that I get to build with my participants. It\u2019s why I got into healthcare. I love the patient facing aspects of the job that I do. I also really love the team that I work with. The investigators are so helpful, and the knowledge base is so impressive– I love learning under them. It\u2019s also so nice to enjoy coming into work and the enjoy the coworkers that you have.<\/p>\n

How has your role evolved over time since you\u2019ve been here?<\/h2>\n

The role that I was hired into has a RD component to it and depending on what the case load of the studies that we have\u2014I may get to provide more dietitian services to our patients which is something that I really love. Not all studies require RD, so it\u2019s nice when I get to use my degree in that way.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

What is one thing that you wish people knew about your job?<\/h2>\n

I wish that people knew how diverse endocrinology research can be. GLPs are dominating the market and so that is what I believe a lot of people think our unit does, but we have such a gamut of studies. We work with type one, type two, overweight and obesity, hypothalamic obesity, atypical diabetes. It\u2019s really cool to see all the avenues of research and to know how many lives can be changed by the work that we do.<\/p>\n

What are you most proud of, personal or professional?<\/h2>\n

A goal that I set for myself in high school was to obtain my Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist certification at some point. In my current role, I was supported by my team and was able to successfully sit for the test and earn that cert, so now I get to be Cassandra Donahue, RDN,LDN, CDCES<\/p>\n

What\u2019s one thing on your bucket list?<\/h2>\n

I would love to travel to Africa; both South Africa and the Serengeti are on my bucket list.<\/p>\n

Do you have hobbies outside of work that you enjoy?<\/h2>\n

Some of my favorite things to do outside of work include going to concerts, trying new foods, & exploring with my pup Louie.<\/p>\n

What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?<\/h2>\n

Say yes to any opportunity that presents itself! I say this because I definitely did not foresee a career in research as what I would do with my Dietetics degree. But when a position to become a research coordinator in an endocrinologybased unit that specifically required a RD\u2014I knew that this position was for me, and I took the chance.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?<\/h2>\n

a. The town I was born and raised in (Twinsburg, OH) has the largest gathering of twins in the world.<\/p>\n

b. I also met LeBron James at a high school football game!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet Cassandra Donahue, RDN, LDN, CDCES, A research coordinator and dietician from the city with the largest gathering of twins in America! What\u2019s your role and how long have you been a part of our department? I work as a Clinical Research Coordinator \/ Registered Dietitian in the Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Obesity Clinical Research Unit. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116983,"featured_media":68478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[96,626,92,676],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-endocrinology-metabolism","category-featured-staff","category-research","category-staff","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFeatured Staff Member: Cassandra Donahue, RDN, LDN, CDCES | Department of Medicine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/news\/featured-staff-member-cassandra-donahue-rdn-ldn-cdces\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Featured Staff Member: Cassandra Donahue, RDN, LDN, CDCES | Department of Medicine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meet Cassandra Donahue, RDN, LDN, CDCES, A research coordinator and dietician from the city with the largest gathering of twins in America! 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