Cassandra J. Nguyen

Cassandra J. Nguyen, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of California, Davis, affiliated with Cooperative Extension. Her work bridges research and community action to address food insecurity, particularly among Indigenous communities and families. She holds a B.S. in Dietetics from Central Washington University and M.S. and Ph.D. in Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Nguyen’s research focuses on three core areas: 1) optimizing Extension programs and nutrition education, 2) strengthening local food systems for Native communities, and 3) integrating food security screening into healthcare. Her work emphasizes culturally grounded solutions and participatory methodologies.

Her publications explore food sovereignty frameworks, pandemic impacts on food access, and measurement tools for food security. Notable projects include the Go Healthy Indigenous-Supported Agriculture Study and the Indigenous Nourishment Scales. She collaborates with communities to design interventions like the FRESH Study and Strong Men, Strong Communities initiative targeting hypertension and diabetes prevention.

Her scholarship highlights the distinction between food security (survival) and food sovereignty (thrive), advocating for systemic changes to improve health equity. Ongoing efforts include adapting USDA tools for college students and evaluating the WIC program’s impact on nutritional diversity.