Cheryl Eschbach

Dr. Cheryl Eschbach is the Director of Michigan State University Extension's Health & Nutrition Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Michigan State University. She has held leadership roles since 2018, overseeing community-based health programs, budgets, and partnerships. Her academic career began at MSU Extension in 2008 as an Educator and Specialist.

Education: Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences (Oregon State University), M.S. in Family Sciences and Gerontology (Oregon State University), B.A. in Psychology and Sociology/Anthropology (Oakland University).

Research focuses on Health Extension, aging, participatory research, and integrating primary care with community programs. She has authored/co-authored over a dozen peer-reviewed articles and a 2024 book exploring future directions in Cooperative Extension health programs.

Grants/Leadership: Principal Investigator on a $600K ACL grant (2023–2027) for chronic disease management, a USDA NIFA grant (2024–2027) on sleep and chronic pain, and oversees MSU Extension’s farm stress outreach (Michigan AgrAbility) and SNAP-Ed grants. She also co-leads the Michigan Substance Use, Prevention, Education, and Recovery (MiSUPER) initiative.

Labs/Teams: Directs the Health & Nutrition Institute, collaborates with academic health centers, and leads community engagement projects addressing rural health challenges.