Amy Joy Lanou, PhD serves the University of North Carolina Asheville as department Chair and Professor of Health and Wellness, and as Executive Director of the North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness.  She currently teaches courses at UNC Asheville in nutrition, food politics, nutrition policy, foodways and health communication, as well as the senior seminar in health promotion.  She received her PhD in Human Nutrition from Cornell University.  Her research interests include:  nutrition for the prevention of chronic disease, nutrition and bone health, and how experiential food education impacts what individuals know, think and do with respect to dietary choices.

Dr. Lanou publishes regarding the relationships between vegetarian diets, dairy products and health, as well as conducting collaborative research on engaged interdisciplinary ways of teaching and learning.  She is the author of Building Bone Vitality (McGraw-Hill;  June 2009) and Healthy Eating for Life for Children (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.;  Feb. 2002).  She also does consulting for nonprofit organizations about efforts to assist laypersons and health care professionals in shifting to whole food plant-based eating styles for promotion of long-term wellness.

Dr. Lanou previously served Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) as Director of Nutrition, overseeing nutrition education and outreach programs, and advocating for healthier diets.