Leslie J. Bonci, R.D., M.P.H., L.D.N., one of the country’s most recognized sports nutritionists, is the director of sports medicine nutrition for the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and the Center for Sports Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). She serves as the sports dietitian for the University of Pittsburgh’s department of athletics and is a nutrition consultant for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Riverhounds professional soccer team, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays. In addition, she is the company nutritionist for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and a sports nutrition consultant to numerous high schools and universities. She is also the consulting nutritionist for the US Olympic Canoe and Kayak Team.
A popular former national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association for eight years, Bonci is a frequent guest on local and national TV news programs, a commonly-quoted nutrition expert in newspapers and magazines nationwide, and serves on the editorial advisory board of Fitness magazine. She has her own weekly segment, “The Winning Plate,” on Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV’s Pittsburgh Today Live show, and she has done satellite media tours on behalf of Heinz, Gatorade, and the California Dried Plum Board. Her expertise in the areas of sports nutrition, weight management, eating disorders and digestive health resulted in two book publications: “Total Fitness for Women,” which she co-authored, and the “American Dietetic Association Guide to Better Digestion,” of which she was sole author. An avid long-distance runner, she has written chapters in several sports medicine textbooks and writes regularly for the Training and Conditioning Journal.
Bonci is on the Gatorade Sports Science Institute’s Sports Nutrition Board and lectures frequently at coaches’ clinics as well as at national meetings for the National Strength Professionals Association; National Strength and Conditioning Association; American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; and National Association of Sports and Physical Education. She is also the consultant to the NCAA Division III programs and nutrition expert for the NCAA Nutrition and Performance website. In addition, she has worked in the food industry as a consultant with companies such as Frito-Lay, Gatorade and Heinz.
She is an adjunct assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and an adjunct assistant instructor in pediatric dentistry at the university’s School of Dental Medicine. She also serves on the faculty of Pitt’s sports medicine fellowship training program.
Bonci is a registered dietitian and Pennsylvania-licensed dietitian/nutritionist with a Bachelor of Science degree in biopsychology from Vassar College and a master's degree in public health from the University of Pittsburgh.