Sharon M Nickols

Sharon M Nickols is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois. She specializes in food insecurity, nutritional sciences, and public health nutrition with a focus on college students, dietary behavior, and obesity prevention. Her work integrates behavioral science, program evaluation, and policy advocacy to address health disparities.

Her research interests include exploring food insecurity among college students, assessing the effectiveness of peer-led nutrition education programs like PAWS (Peer-Education about Weight Steadiness), and investigating factors influencing vegetable consumption and cognitive eating behavior. She has received the Abbott Nutrition Award in Women’s Health (2015).

Key contributions include advancing methodologies for food insecurity measurement, analyzing the role of seasoning and serving size on consumer vegetable preferences, and evaluating the impact of culinary skills interventions in youth populations. Her studies frequently utilize randomized controlled trials and mixed-methods approaches.

Sharon collaborates with institutions like Illinois Extension and has contributed to over 87 peer-reviewed publications. Her work emphasizes practical applications, such as improving campus food security policies and designing scalable health education programs.