Nutrition

We focus on how nutritional status at every life stage affects health, within a socioecological context, and autonomous motivation to eat a healthy diet.  Our research examines the nutritional and weight status of women during pregnancy, infant feeding, and their influence on health of the pregnancy, moms after pregnancy, future generations, and intrauterine origins of adult disease. A second focus is the study of the  effects of omega-3, other fatty acids, and the whole diet, on cardiovascular disease, which relates to quality of life. Our work utilizes data ranging from clinical trials to large datasets such as those from the Framingham, MESA, and other studies. 

Program Faculty

Robert Block, MD, MPH

Erin Campbell, MD, MPH

Diana Fernandez, MD, MPH, PhD
I am interested in the assessment of dietary intake and nutritional status in all life stages to develop strategies for health promotion and the prevention of diet-related chronic conditions. Currently, my work in this area includes the use of grocery stores purchases data to monitor longitudinal dietary patterns in the population and the use of food photography for individual-level dietary assessment. My colleagues and I have conducted a series of pilot studies to investigate the feasibility of using food photography to assess the diet of Mexican immigrant farmworker families and to explore the everyday routines these families have around eating, cooking, and shopping. Our long-term goal is to develop a culture- and literacy- specific smartphone application including food photography for dietary assessment and a dietary intervention.

Edwin van Wijngaarden, PhD, MSc
Seychelles study is more and more about nutrition