Dr. Melanie Shuran received her Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Dietetics from the University of Illinois at the Medical Center. Her graduate work was completed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she earned her Master of Science (1981) and Ph.D. (1988) in Nutritional Sciences. Her clinical work experience includes a position as the dietitian on a general medical floor at Loyola University Medical Center; the Nutritional Support Team dietitian at Carle Foundation Hospital; and the outpatient dietitian for the University Clinics at Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School.
Dr. Shuran’s academic experience includes positions as the Director of the Coordinated Dietetics Program at California State University, Los Angeles and Associate Director of the MS/MD Program in Clinical Nutrition. In 1993, as Professor and Chair of the newly created Department of Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics, she developed the M.S. Program in Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics and was responsible for moving the program to a completely online format in 1999 as well as integrating computer technologies into the M.S. curriculum.
After chairing the Department of Nutrition for seven years, Dr. Shuran became Director of Technology and Faculty Development, a position in which she assisted faculty and students in making the transition to the online learning environment within the School of Related Health Sciences. In March 2005, she assumed the role of Chief Information Officer for the university overseeing Information Technology (IT) and, in the following year, Dr. Shuran’s responsibilities expanded when the Office of Educational Technology merged with IT. In July 2007, Dr. Shuran was promoted to Associate Vice President for Learning Resources, a role in which she oversees Library Services and Educational Technology. Dr. Shuran's areas of expertise and interest are: critical care nutrition; development of online courses and curricula for distance education and graduate nutrition programs; and the integration of technology into graduate education and healthcare professional training programs. Dr. Shuran is a member of The American Dietetic Association and the Illinois Dietetic Association.