معرفی
Christina Economos, PhD, serves as Dean of the Gerald J. Dorothy Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and holds professorships in Nutrition Interventions, Communication, and Entrepreneurship; Public Health and Community Medicine; and Tisch College. She is the New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition and co-Founder/Director of ChildObesity180, a multi-sector initiative addressing childhood obesity through research-practice integration.
Her research focuses on interdisciplinary bio-behavioral interventions with diverse populations in community settings, examining childhood nutrition and physical activity through Community-based Participatory Research and randomized controlled trials. Key projects include Shape Up Somerville (reducing childhood weight gain), Live Well (preventing obesity in immigrant families), and CHANGE (improving rural community health). She pioneers systems science approaches to understand 'what works, for whom, and under what conditions' in obesity prevention.
Economos' publication record demonstrates consistent leadership in childhood obesity research, with recent work spanning dietary adherence metrics, food labeling impacts, pandemic recovery in school wellness, and health equity in food policy. Her articles reveal strong emphasis on systems thinking, community engagement, and translating research into actionable interventions across diverse settings.
- Spirit of Exercise and Health Sciences Award (2018)
As principal investigator on numerous grants including Catalyzing Communities (JPB Foundation), USDA WIC Telehealth projects, and NIH-funded initiatives, Economos has secured over $20 million in research funding. Her mentorship includes doctoral thesis advising and career guidance for emerging researchers. She leads the Tufts-USDA Doctoral Fellowships in Childhood Obesity Prevention and directs the ChildObesity180 initiative, which bridges academic research with business, government, and nonprofit sectors to scale evidence-based solutions.
