Katie Emerson, RD, senior manager of scientific affairs at Kyowa Hakko USA, is a first-generation college student who explored everything from art to law before becoming a teacher, then a nursing student, before she eventually landed on nutrition.
“I think the turning point for me was working with collegiate athletes at the University of Miami,” Emerson said.
“My football players were asking me about supplements, and I’m like, ‘Ooh, I don’t know a lot about supplements, I’m not the person you should be asking.' And they’re like, ‘but you’re the dietician.' And I was like, ‘I should know, shouldn’t I?' So I came over to the industry. I figured what better way to learn about supplements than coming over here. And I just haven’t left and I’m never leaving. And this is my home. This is where I belong. I love what we do.”
Despite the challenges of being dyslexic, Emerson has emerged as a powerful speaker in the supplement industry, hoping to use her voice to bridge the knowledge gap between dietetics and dietary supplements—a topic that will be the focus of her upcoming dissertation.
Aside from her day job, Emerson balances her role as a wife to her high school sweetheart and mother to their two daughters, while pursuing a PhD in exercise science and sports performance. She is also active in Women in Nutraceuticals, ISSN and the American Society of Nutrition.
“I want to be able to leave my mark on this world,” she said. “It’s been a discovery of myself, you know, through all these different avenues of, you know, what am I doing? Why am I here? And also I just want to keep learning…someone said, once you stop learning, you stop living.”
