About Us

Tara Coghlin Dickson, MS, RD, CSSD, FAND

Tara Coghlin Dickson has been a clinician, researcher and educator at Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford Health Care for over 30 years where she works with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. She has created and coordinates a BMT Caregiver Support Class Series, has published research on glutamine, Vitamin D and recently created an algorithm for steroid induced hyperglycemia.

Sports Nutrition Consultant at United States Olympic Committee she is the sports nutritionist for Team USA Synchronized Swimming and was for Stanford University’s varsity sports for nearly a decade, Dominican University of California and St Francis Memorial Hospital's Center for Sports Medicine. 

Tara received her BS in Nutrition Science from University of California at Davis and MS in Nutrition and Biology. She completed tutorial studies in Oxford, England and dietetic internship at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She has maintained Board Certified as a Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) since 2006 and had previous board certification as a nutrition support specialist (CNSC).

Coghlin Dickson served on the leadership committee of the Academy's Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN) dietetic practice group as Director of Development and as Content Expert for SCAN's 32nd Symposium in 2016. Practitioner and SCAN volunteer serving as Chair, Nominating Committee Chair, Director of Member Services and SD-USA volunteer for years she was the recipient of the 2014 SCAN Excellence in Practice Award. In her free time she enjoys outdoor activities and spending time with family, friends and watching her sons play sports.

Katie Harper, MS, RD, CNSC, CSO

Katie is a registered dietitian with over 10 years of experience working with patients who have cancer. She received a bachelor's degree in Nutrition Sciences at Washington State University, obtained a Master’s of Science (MS) in Nutrition and completed an accredited internship through Colorado State University. She is a Certified Specialist in Oncology (CSO) and a Certified Nutrition Support Clinician (CNSC).

As a Registered Dietitian, Katie’s passion and focus is helping patients with cancer optimize nutrition throughout their cancer journey. Seven years ago, Katie joined the inpatient Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) team at the University of Colorado Hospital and currently works with patients on the Oncology and BMT inpatient unit. She assesses and develops nutrition plans for patients before, during, and after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants (HSCT). This includes using various routes of nutrition such as oral nutrition, tube feeding and intravenous nutrition. Additionally, Katie assists in the management of gastrointestinal Graft vs Host Disease (GVHD) by creating individualized nutrition plans to minimize symptoms and promote healing of the gastrointestinal tract.

Outside of work, Katie is a married mother of two young girls. In the past she was very involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She has been a mentor, running coach, and participant with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team in Training Program. Katie has personally raised over $8000 dollars for LLS while completing and coaching numerous events including half marathons, marathons, and triathlons.

Katie’s nutrition philosophy is to eat a balanced diet with minimally processed foods 90% of the time, and don’t stress about the other 10%.

Patty McDonnell, RD, CSO, FAND, CD

Patty has been a Clinical Dietitian at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance for over twenty years. She has specialized in autologous and allogeneic hemopoietic cell transplant, hematology, sarcoma and genitourinary cancers. She has maintained board certification as a specialist in oncology nutrition (CSO).

Patty has published a peer reviewed article about cryotherapy for mucositis prevention and posters about vitamin D deficiency with autologous transplant patients. Outside of work, Patty had owned a small family business and participated actively with philanthropy and coaching youth sports in her community.

Patty completed her internship at the Sea Mar Health Centers in Seattle, Washington and earned her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from Michigan State University.