I spend much of my time today communicating food and science through books, television, and speaking events. I also engage with community, business, and nonprofit organizations to apply evidence-based nutrition and environmental science to critical food challenges. Whether you are looking for a detail-oriented researcher, dedicated consultant, or award-winning educator, please contact me to see how I can help you meet your goals. (And, for more details, grab my CV.)
As a scientist and health expert, I have consulted on a wide variety of topics related to food and nutrition from farm to fork, community organizations to major policy institutes, small businesses to state health departments. Projects are varied and include developing content for employee health programs and apps; advising on research study design, data collection, and statistical analysis; and delivering written and oral reports and white papers. I also serve on various boards and advisory committees, which have have included the True Health Initiative, World Tomato Society, and the Private and Public, Scientific, Advisory, and Consumer Food Policy Group at Harvard Kennedy School as well as those noted below.
As a nutritional epidemiologist, I am trained to measure what people are eating and use statistics to examine associations with health and disease. My expertise is centered on the role of diet in chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. I am particularly focused on the “big picture”: it’s not just a single nutrient or element that has the greatest impact on your health but the way you usually eat day in, day out, that matters (“dietary patterns”). I’ve collaborated with colleagues around the US as well as in England and Sweden on studies of diet and disease.
As a food personality and health expert, I delight in sharing my love of food and nutrition in all kinds of venues, including the university. In the past, students in my classes have primarily comprised college and graduate students. Today, I spend more time instructing individuals from all walks of life in classes that are open to anyone. My courses span the gamut of how what we eat impacts our individual and collective health from biochemistry to epidemiology, agriculture to environment.
