Lara Al-Dandachi is one of the few registered dietitians in California, and the rest of the United States, to hold a triple certification in Diabetes Care specialty CDES, Advanced Diabetes Management BC-ADM and in Obesity with Subspecialty Weight Management (CSOWM). Her work as a clinical nutritionist has led her to lead projects such as UCLA Health's Gonda Diabetes Prevention Program, which has received special recognition from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and has allowed her to work with multiple cohorts.

In addition, she coordinates the Obesity Reduction Program (PRO) as Director of Nutrition. From that group, she is in charge of developing and updating the professional curriculum for overweight education in adults and adolescents, as well as training new dietitians. In all of these settings, she counsels her patients on how to improve their lifestyle by incorporating healthy eating habits, increased physical activity and the fundamentals of Integrative Medicine.

At the same time, Al-Dandachi continually seeks to stay at the forefront of clinical research in Nutrition. She has attended the Harvard Blackburn Course in Obesity Medicine twice. In those participations, she has received the Certificate of Training in Pediatric and Adult Obesity through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the accrediting agency of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Also, her mastery of this healthcare field allows her to provide personalized care to patients with rare conditions such as latent Autoimmune Diabetes in adulthood. She has also worked in her Public Health internship as a volunteer, collaborating with underprivileged populations in initiatives for HIV education and prevention, the Head Start program , among others.

• Nutrition Director of the Obesity Reduction Program at UCLA Health, California, United States

• Clinical Dietitian with CareMore Health Plan

• Director of Nutrition at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center

• Clinical Dietitian at Sodexho Health Care Services

• Clinical Dietitian at Beverly Hospital

• Master's Degree in Public Health at Loma Linda University

• Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Science and Dietetics at the American University of Beirut