Meet Michelle
Michelle Shamailov, RD, LD, CCTD
Central Texas’ cardiac & surgical nutrition specialist
15 years of clinical nutrition experience
9 years in heart transplant
A decade of nutrition counseling
Credentials
Registered Dietitian (RD), Commission on Dietetic Registration, 2014-present
Licensed Dietitian (LD), Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, 2014-present
Certified Clinical Transplant Dietitian (CCTD), NATCO, 2020-present
Certified Specialist in Gerontological Nutrition (CSG), CDR, 2021-2026
Certificate of Training in Adult Malnutrition, ANHI, 2020
Certificate of Training in Obesity and Weight Management, CDR, 2023
Pending: Certified Specialist in Obesity and Weight Management (CSOWM), CDR, expected late 2026
Hello! I was born and raised in Michigan but have been happy to call Texas home since 2014. In my personal time, I enjoy playing with my two young children, laughing with my husband, wandering in nature, messing with watercolor paints, and working on puzzles. In my kitchen, you’ll always find oranges and dark chocolate peanut butter cups.
My Experience
I recently spent 10 years at Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin, including nine years as the primary dietitian for their Heart Specialty Care and Transplant Center, specializing in advanced heart failure, LVAD, and heart transplantation. In this role, I worked concurrently in both the inpatient and outpatient setting to provide the full continuity of care.
I’ve worked across the full spectrum of cardiac disease:
from supporting critically ill patients in the ICU on life support
to counseling busy executives on their lunch break.
Previous positions in rehabilitation and long-term care deepened my understanding of how resilience, nutrition, and lifestyle shape long-term health outcomes.
These experiences — evaluating transplant candidacy, developing nutrition protocols, and guiding patients through heart failure, diabetes, malnutrition, surgical recovery, and major lifestyle change — now inform every client interaction.
I never wanted to be the person who handed patients a list of restrictions and sent them home. I wanted to be the one who helped them figure out how to keep eating what they love, while taking care of themselves at the same time.
My Mission
I’ve watched individuals’ health trajectories unfold over a span of many years, and have seen firsthand how habits can influence whether someone returns to a full, independent life after a major health event, or faces ongoing challenges and repeated hospitalizations.
I’ve also seen what happens when nutrition is addressed too late — or not at all.
What my experience has made undeniably clear is that nutrition care remains underutilized across healthcare — not due to a lack of care, but rather systemic barriers. Insurance coverage is restrictive. Inpatient dietitians are stretched thin. Outpatient follow-through can feel fragmented.
Too often, patients are handed a pamphlet and left to figure out the rest.