Sarah Wen Warykas, Graduate Student Spotlight, June 2026

Headshot, Sarah Wen Warykas

As an undergraduate, Sarah Wen attended the UConn Coordinated Dietetics Program, an accelerated program that provided internships in multiple settings. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and received her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics in 2019.

Shortly after graduating, she became a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). Sarah Wen then started a master’s program in the Nutritional Sciences Department at UConn. During this time, she helped run a Milk Polar Lipid clinical study and was the RDN for a plant-based clinical study. She also completed a capstone project, The Effects of Dairy Product Consumption on Cardiovascular Disease and co-authored a paper related to this work. Sarah Wen received the Eastern States Exposition Graduate Student Scholarship in fall 2019. In Summer 2021, as part of her Master’s capstone experience, Sarah Wen interned with the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and worked on grant-funded projects related to summer meal programs in CT as well as the Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) project.  Sarah Wen received her master’s degree in Nutritional Science in 2021.

In Fall 2021, Sarah Wen joined the HDFS graduate program to work with Dr. Kim Gans. Sarah Wen has worked on a variety of research project during her HDFS graduate program, including the a study focused on improving water intake within preschool-aged children, a mindfulness study, and an immunotherapy Cancer study based at UConn Health Center at John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington, Connecticut. Sarah Wen’s master’s thesis focused on factors influencing eating behaviors, physical activity, and screen-time among preschool-aged, Latine children. During her time in HDFS, Sarah was involved in 11 conference presentations and 3 publications. She especially enjoyed presenting her thesis research at the CT Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics conference last month.

In her personal life, Sarah enjoys riding her horse Peanut. In May 2026, Sarah Wen started a new job as Clinical Dietitian at UMass Memorial Harrington Hospital, in Southbridge, MA.