PHILADELPHIA (May 5, 2025) — Jaylin Staunton, MS, RD, LDN, CNSC, Lead Clinical Dietitian Specialist at Fox Chase Cancer Center, was awarded the Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year Award by the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
“Receiving this award is an incredible honor and truly humbling,” said Staunton. “I am grateful for the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of those in our care, and I look forward to continuing my work to make a meaningful difference for our patients and their families.”
The award recognizes dietitians who have demonstrated skills necessary to be a leader and innovator and who have made a high-level impact on the profession of dietetics at a young age. It is granted by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics — the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals — and its affiliates, including the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, to foster leadership within the profession.
“I am privileged to work with a dedicated interprofessional team at Fox Chase Cancer Center to assist patients whose courage and resilience inspire me every day,” Staunton said. “This award is not only a reflection of my efforts but also a celebration of the collective efforts of my colleagues and the Fox Chase community.”
In her role at Fox Chase, Staunton focuses on ethical feeding practices for patients with cancer. She founded and is Chair of the Ethical Feeding Task Force, which she believes is one of the first of its kind. The purpose of the task force is ensuring ethical administration of intravenous, also known as parenteral, nutrition for oncology patients, particularly at the end of life. She currently manages intravenous nutrition orders for all oncology patients at Fox Chase and educates providers on end-of-life nutrition care and support.
Staunton also serves as Lead Clinical Preceptor for Fox Chase and Temple University Hospital - Jeanes Campus, a position she has held since 2019. This role involves overseeing all dietetic interns as they complete their clinical nutrition rotations.
Staunton is a member of Fox Chase’s Nutrition Steering Committee, Medical Ethics Committee, and Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, and she currently serves as the Chair-Elect for the International Clinical Ethics Section of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.
In recent years, she has been awarded funding for research on the use of indirect calorimetry versus weight-based equations to dose parenteral nutrition and has presented on the topics of nutrition support and ethics at several local and national conferences.