Rahel Mathews

Dr. Rahel Mathews serves as an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University through the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, focusing on community-centered nutrition research to address systemic health challenges. Her work bridges academic inquiry with practical extension services across Mississippi and global contexts.

Her research program critically examines:

• Structural drivers of food insecurity among vulnerable populations
• Culturally tailored interventions for healthy eating promotion
• Intergenerational dynamics in child obesity prevention
• Nutrition challenges in aging populations
• Global food security disparities across socioeconomic and geographic lines
• Racial and ethnic health inequities in dietary access

Analysis of her 25+ publications (2000-2025) reveals evolving expertise from occupational health safety to contemporary nutrition policy. Recent work investigates pandemic-era supplement use, caregiver influences on youth nutrition, and food safety innovations in agricultural communities, demonstrating methodological versatility across longitudinal cohort studies, scoping reviews, and community-based participatory research.

Dr. Mathews actively mentors graduate researchers including Anna Marie Huerkamp, Sadie Studdard, and Sharon Samuel while maintaining leadership roles in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Society of Nutrition, Mississippi Food Policy Board, and Mississippi Public Health Association. Her extension publications translate complex research into actionable resources for caregivers and food producers, exemplifying commitment to community impact.