Stephanie Patterson, M.D., M.S.

Dr. Stephanie Patterson, MD, MS is Core Faculty in the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She joined the faculty in 2020 following completion of her Pediatric Critical Care fellowship at Vanderbilt. She completed her Pediatric residency at the University of Virginia, where she also served as Pediatric Chief Resident.

Dr. Patterson’s work sits at the intersection of clinical care, food systems, and community health. Her research focuses on addressing health-related social needs, particularly nutrition insecurity, and examining how access to high-quality food influences pediatric health outcomes. At Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, she leads efforts to design and implement system–based interventions that connect patients and families to food resources, including technology-enabled screening, referral, and discharge support programs.

A central theme of Dr. Patterson’s work is advancing food as medicine through a broader ecological lens. She collaborates with community-based organizations, local farms, and interdisciplinary partners to develop regional, sustainable food systems that improve access to nutritious food while strengthening community health. Her initiatives integrate food access and nutrition education into both clinical care and medical education, equipping healthcare professionals to address upstream drivers of disease.

With additional training in Food Policy and Sustainability from Arizona State University’s Graduate Leadership course, Dr. Patterson advocates for innovative, resilient food systems that support both human and environmental health. As faculty with the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society, she supports Rooted Community Health, where her work bridges healthcare and agriculture by connecting local farms with clinical systems. In partnership with community leaders, she advances scholarship, education, and engagement at the nexus of ecology, nutrition, and health.