An interest in helping people reach their health and fitness goals prompted Dr. Frugé to move from finance to health and nutrition. After graduating from Harding University, Ark., in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in management, he received a master's degree in business administration from Mississippi State University in 2007. A year later, he received his master’s degree in finance (with a minor in community planning) from Auburn University.
He took an alternative route to healthcare after working in corporate banking for a couple of years. His experience as a personal trainer while completing his degree at Auburn motivated his interest in health care. Frugé resolved to complete the requirements to be a Registered Dietitian (RD) and earn a doctoral degree in food science, nutrition and health promotion with a nutrition concentration from Mississippi State University in 2014. He continued his training as a postdoctoral fellow in the National Cancer Institute’s cancer prevention and control training program at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB).
Since 2017, Frugé has served as a dietitian in the United States Army Reserve. “As an Army dietitian, I help soldiers troubleshoot their digestive, metabolic and energy/fatigue problems, and helped them meet Army fitness standards,” he said. “Since I work in a medical unit, there is always a physician or nurse practitioner nearby to whom I can refer the soldiers when their needs exceed my scope of practice.”
Frugé has worked with several faculty members in CON through Interprofessional Education (IPE), and when the opportunity to join the faculty arose, he took it. “I was drawn to the positive energy and supportive atmosphere,” he said. “The interview process reinforced that this was a perfect fit for me to integrate my research and teaching and contribute to the productivity and excellence of the College.”
Until recently, he taught medical nutrition in the College of Human Sciences, providing future dietitians the knowledge and competency to discuss complex diseases with the entire healthcare team as they work to help treat and prevent disease. At the CON, he will be involved with the DNP courses.
Frugé research aims to improve health outcomes through improving health behaviors, with a focus on the relationships between the gut microbiome and metabolic and mental health. “At UAB, I had the prospect of exploring gut microbiome and its relationship to cancer patients and survivors in the clinical trials we were conducting. Over the past five years I have conducted diet and resistance training studies to improve health status and reduce chronic disease risk in adults,” he said.
“I see my new role with IPE as developing and implementing a system for measuring the long-term impact of our community clinics when we transition to in-person clinics again. This will include following up with patients we screen and educate to ensure they are accessing community resources, scheduling and attending medical/dental/optical appointments, and giving us the opportunity to continue serving them.”
AUCON welcomes Dr. Drew Frugé.
