Barbara Laraia

Dr. Barbara Laraia is a Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley, affiliated with the Division of Community Health Sciences. Her research focuses on the interplay between food insecurity, stress, dietary behaviors, and metabolic health outcomes, particularly in maternal and child populations. She leads transdisciplinary studies integrating nutrition, social epidemiology, neuroscience, and biostatistics.

• Education:
  • PhD in Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1999)
  • MPH in Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1994)
  • BS in Hospital Dietetics, University of Illinois (1984)

Her work emphasizes food insecurity as a dual stressor and dietary determinant, linking it to cardiovascular risk, obesity, and diabetes. She has designed interventions combining mindfulness and dietary strategies for pregnant women, demonstrating improved glycemic control and mental health outcomes. As Principal Investigator for the NHLBI Growth and Health longitudinal study, she explores food insecurity’s role in accelerated aging and health disparities.

Dr. Laraia has authored over 150 publications and teaches courses on public health nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, and maternal/child health policies. Her methodological expertise spans dietary assessments, biomarker collection, and neighborhood environment analysis. She is featured in media outlets for her research on sugar consumption and biological aging.