Jess Haines

Jess Haines is a Professor in the Department of Family Relations & Applied Nutrition at the University of Guelph, within the College of Social & Applied Human Sciences. Her research focuses on preventing weight-related disorders among children through community and family-based interventions. She leads projects like the Guelph Family Health Study and the NIH-funded 'Father & Families' initiative, examining parental influence on children’s health behaviors. Haines is also Director of the Parent-Child Feeding Laboratory, studying feeding interactions and child eating behaviors. She has received the Danone International Prize for Alimentation and Royal Society of Canada recognition. Haines' work integrates behavioral science, public health, and nutritional research to address obesity and eating disorder prevention.

Education: PhD in Epidemiology (University of Minnesota, 2005), MHSc in Community Nutrition (University of Toronto, 2000), BSc in Human Ecology (Western Ontario, 1998).

Major grants include funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada for community co-design projects and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation for lab infrastructure. Her interventions target families in the Onward Willow neighborhood and focus on sustainable diet practices.