Stefano Caria is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick. He will join the University of Oxford in 2025. His affiliations include J-PAL, CEPR (Development and Labour), BREAD, CAGE, and STICERD's EEE program. He serves as a trustee for the Global Change Data Lab (OWID), IGC lead academic for Ethiopia, and co-chair of J-PAL's Labor Sector. His research focuses on labor markets, development economics, and experimental methods, with recent projects addressing refugee employment in Jordan, garment sector dynamics in Ethiopia, and urban poverty in Bangladesh. Key publications include studies on labor market exclusion in African cities, firm growth constraints, and the impact of childcare subsidies in Egypt. He has received the Leverhulme Prize and contributes to policy through roles like editor at Econometrica and advisor to international organizations. Current work explores social structures in labor markets, climate migration, and adaptive policy interventions.
Helen Vidgen is a Professor in Public Health at the School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Her research focuses on food literacy, childhood obesity prevention, and nutrition education, with significant contributions to public health policy and program implementation. She has led projects evaluating school meal programs, childhood obesity management services like PEACH™, and food literacy interventions across diverse populations. Her work emphasizes socio-ecological barriers to nutrition education, policy development, and the translation of evidence-based practices into community settings. Dr. Vidgen has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and edited books, including Food Literacy: Key Concepts for Health and Education (2016), which establishes foundational frameworks for food literacy research. She collaborates with government agencies, non-profits, and healthcare professionals to address systemic challenges in obesity prevention and food system reforms. Recent contributions include analyzing the role of school-provided meals in obesity prevention, evaluating father’s roles in family food practices, and advancing measurement tools like the IFLQ-19 food literacy questionnaire. Her research bridges theory and practice, informing policy initiatives on nutrition education, food regulation, and equitable health outcomes.
Suzie Goodell is a Professor and Director of the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Nutrition at North Carolina State University (NC State), located in the Schaub Food Science Building. She holds a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Connecticut (2007), an M.S. in Food and Nutrition from Texas Tech University (2002), and a B.S. in Biology from Hardin-Simmons University (1999). Her research focuses on childhood obesity prevention, qualitative methodologies, and community/public health nutrition, particularly in low-income and minority populations. She is a leader in developing evidence-based interventions targeting preschool-aged children and their caregivers. Dr. Goodell has received numerous accolades including the Gertrude Cox Award for Teaching Innovation (2020-21), Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor recognition (2017-18), and the USDA Southern Region Excellence in Teaching Award (2017). She actively contributes to professional organizations like the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Her teaching portfolio includes courses such as NTR 490: Senior Capstone in Nutrition and NTR 601/801: Nutrition Seminar, emphasizing experiential learning and technology integration. She has pioneered initiatives like the More PEAS Please! program, combining science education with dietary quality promotion in preschool settings. Her recent work explores food insecurity among college students, teacher training in food-based learning, and childcare garden interventions to improve fruit/vegetable consumption. Dr. Goodell's qualitative research expertise includes in-depth interviews and focus groups, often applied in program evaluations and needs assessments. She collaborates with institutions like the NC State Academy of Outstanding Teachers and the Office of Institutional Equality and Diversity on community-engaged projects.
Anisha I. Patel is a Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, holding appointments in Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Population Health. She directs the Partnerships for Research in Child Health Lab and serves as Associate Dean of Research and Co-Director of the Office of Child Health Equity. Her work addresses health inequities through community-engaged research, focusing on chronic disease prevention in underserved populations. Undergraduate, Medical, and Public Health degrees from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) Completed Clinical Scholars Program at UCLA and Health Policy Studies at UCSF Dr. Patel's research examines how community partnerships can improve child health outcomes through policy interventions related to school nutrition, drinking water access, and obesity prevention. She has led initiatives like Agua4All, which provided filtered water stations in schools, and evaluated universal free school meal policies. Her studies often involve randomized trials in schools and childcare centers. Recent publications analyze institutional barriers to community-engaged research, newborn temperature norms, and policy impacts of universal school meals. She has received national recognition for her work, including awards from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Outstanding Achievement Award, American Academy of Pediatrics (2025) Sidney S. Chipman Award, UNC-CH (2025) K24 Midcareer Investigator Award, NHLBI (2025) ELAM Program Fellow (2025) As a mentor, Dr. Patel supervises postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty in community-engaged research. Her projects have been funded by NIH, RWJF, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She also practices clinical pediatrics at Gardner Packard Children’s Health Center. Key collaborations include Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, Office of Community-Engaged Research, and partnerships with California and national school nutrition programs.
Beth Racine is a Professor and Associate Department Head for Extension in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. She serves as Director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at El Paso. Her research focuses on public health nutrition, food policy, and child/adolescent nutrition. She examines dietary quality, food environment interventions, and health disparities using mixed-methods approaches. Dr. Racine's work addresses critical issues like school meal policies, university dining environments, and SNAP/WIC program impacts. She has conducted systematic reviews on complementary feeding practices and MAUP effects in food access studies. Her recent research explores pandemic-related shifts in dining behaviors and the influence of socioeconomic factors on health outcomes. Her research initiatives include developing nutrition security action plans for universities and evaluating interventions to improve food purchasing behaviors. She maintains an active presence in public health nutrition through collaborative projects with AgriLife Extension and interdisciplinary teams.
Sara Benjamin-Neelon is a Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a primary appointment in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society and a joint affiliation with the Department of International Health. She is also the Director of the Lerner Center. Holding a PhD, JD, and MPH, her interdisciplinary expertise spans child nutrition, public health law, and chronic disease prevention. Educational Background: JD, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, 2017 PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2006 MPH, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2002 BS, Ithaca College, 1995 Dr. Benjamin-Neelon’s research centers on early life predictors of obesity and chronic diseases, with a strong emphasis on health equity. Her work explores community-based interventions for children and families, food insecurity, policy evaluation (especially in nutrition and physical activity), epigenetic and environmental influences on child growth, and the social determinants of early life feeding, physical activity, sleep, and stress. She examines both domestic and global contexts, contributing significantly to understanding how policy changes can create healthier environments. Her extensive publication record includes over 196 research outputs, with recent articles focusing on childcare environments, breastfeeding policies, cannabis use during pregnancy, university beverage contracts, and infant feeding regulations. The trends in her recent work highlight a strong focus on policy analysis, health equity, and the evaluation of natural experiments in public health. She frequently investigates how structural and environmental factors shape child health outcomes. She has not received any explicitly mentioned scientific awards in the provided text. Dr. Benjamin-Neelon advises students and leads significant research projects, including evaluations of state nutrition and physical activity policies, the impact of childcare on obesity risk, and initiatives to improve healthy feeding in early childhood. Her work often involves collaboration with interdisciplinary teams and has significant implications for public health grants and policy development. She leads or contributes to key research initiatives such as the evaluation of South Carolina’s nutrition and physical activity policies, studies on licensing laws for infant and toddler care, and the Maryland Collaborative to reduce excessive college drinking. Her research environment is collaborative, involving multiple institutions and public health agencies.
Lisa A. Gennetian is a Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and the Pritzker Professor of Early Learning Policy Studies . She serves as Director of Graduate Studies in Duke's Sanford School PhD Program and is an Affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy . Her research focuses on child poverty, behavioral economics applications to policy, and Hispanic family economic dynamics. PhD in Economics from Cornell University (1998) B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College (1990) Her work bridges poverty scholarship with behavioral economics, exemplified by the Baby's First Years study - the first multi-site U.S. cash transfer experiment. Key initiatives include beELL (behavioral economics for early learning) and leadership at the National Center for Research on Hispanic Families . She advocates for policy reforms to support working families, including child tax credits and childcare investments. Recent publications analyze unconditional cash transfers, net worth poverty, and racial disparities in child development. She has received grants for maternal/infant health research and Hispanic family studies. Her 2025 work shows continued focus on poverty mechanisms and policy design, with 2024 studies examining maternal well-being and child neurodevelopment. Scientific Awards Include: North Carolina Maternal and Infant Health Grant (2025), Center for Research on Hispanic Children (2019-2024) Key Research Themes: Cash transfer effects, behavioral economics applications, racial disparities in poverty, early childhood policy
Alice Weinreb is an Associate Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago, where she teaches courses in the history of psychiatry, twentieth-century Europe, the politics of food and hunger, and memory and the Holocaust. Currently on leave for the 2024-25 academic year, Professor Weinreb has established herself as a leading scholar at the intersection of food history, German history, and the history of medicine. Her educational background includes a PhD from the University of Michigan (2009), an M.A. from Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (2003), and a B.A. from Columbia University (1999). These diverse academic experiences have informed her interdisciplinary approach to historical research. Professor Weinreb's research primarily focuses on the historical intersections of food, power, and mental health in twentieth-century Germany and Europe. Her work explores how food systems, hunger, and eating disorders have been shaped by political ideologies, war, and social change. She examines how everyday experiences of food preparation and consumption reflect broader historical processes, particularly in the context of the World Wars, the Cold War, and the Holocaust. Her scholarship bridges the history of medicine, cultural history, and political history, offering nuanced perspectives on how bodily experiences are intertwined with larger historical narratives. Professor Weinreb has received significant recognition for her scholarly contributions. Her first book, Modern Hungers: Food, and Power in Twentieth Century Germany , published with Oxford University Press in 2017, was awarded both the Wiener Library Fraenkel Book Prize in Contemporary History and the Waterloo Centre for German Studies Book Prize. Most recently, she was awarded a prestigious 2024 NEH Fellowship to support her new project tracing a transnational history of the construction of eating disorders as a category of mental illness in the late twentieth century. In addition to her book awards, Professor Weinreb has been invited to present significant lectures, including the 15th Annual James H. Cassedy Lecture in the History of Medicine in February 2024, titled "Anorexia in the Archives: Documenting the Late Twentieth Century Rise in Eating Disorders." Her research has been featured in numerous interviews and discussions about the historical dimensions of food politics and eating disorders. Professor Weinreb teaches a range of courses at Loyola University Chicago, including HIST 102: The Evolution of Western Ideas and Institutions since the Seventeenth Century, PSYCH 386: History of Psychiatry: Research Seminar on Eating Disorders, HIST 331A: Food Hunger and Power in the Modern World, and courses on women and family in Europe, race and racism in Germany, and Holocaust memory. Her teaching reflects her interdisciplinary research interests and commitment to engaging students with complex historical questions about food, medicine, and politics.
Elizabeth T. Powers is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), serving as Director of Undergraduate Programs. She holds affiliations with the Institute of Government & Public Affairs (Partnering Scholar), Family Resiliency Center, and Center for the Study of Global Gender Equity. Her research focuses on public policy impacts on well-being, caregiving systems, child development, and gender disparities in economics education. Dr. Powers earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and B.A. from Vassar College. Prior roles include economist positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and U.S. Council of Economic Advisers. Her work has influenced policy decisions, including Supreme Court rulings on caregiver labor disputes and state-level childcare regulations. She has conducted groundbreaking studies on childcare program efficacy during crises, gender participation in economics fields, and long-term care workforce challenges. Current projects address childcare infrastructure resilience and parental decision-making. Her research has been supported by grants from institutions like the Joint Centers for Poverty Research and Michigan Retirement Research Center. Awards include recognition for policy-relevant scholarship, though no explicit awards are listed. Public service includes data analysis for Illinois Department of Human Services and expert testimony in critical social welfare cases.
Shoshanah Inwood is an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University’s School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR), specializing in rural sociology and the intersection of agriculture, environment, and society. Her research addresses community and economic development through themes like health and well-being in food systems, social factors affecting farm growth, and food system resilience during disasters. She co-directs the Center for Community and Working Landscapes in Wooster, Ohio, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to study agricultural sustainability. Degrees in rural sociology, environmental science, and biology Co-director of the Center for Community and Working Landscapes USDA-AFRI and CDC-funded projects Her recent work focuses on rural childcare’s economic impacts, health insurance access for farm families, and the emotional dimensions of farming. Projects include the Ohio Farm Poll, Pathways to Prosperity, and emergency management studies. She contributes to extension resources and policy briefs, emphasizing the need to integrate household-level social needs into agricultural policy. Notable projects and affiliations include: Center for Community and Working Landscapes USDA-AFRI Health Insurance Project Pathways to Prosperity Project CDC Childcare Safety Project
Steven Haider is a Professor in the Department of Economics at Michigan State University (MSU). His research focuses on labor economics, public policy, health economics, and socioeconomic disparities. He has conducted extensive studies on labor supply elasticities, welfare reform, infant mortality gaps, and the impact of public policies on marginalized populations. Haider's work often integrates empirical econometric methodologies with policy analysis, particularly in evaluating the effectiveness of social programs. His research on breastfeeding support programs, racial disparities in health outcomes, and retirement wealth dynamics demonstrates a commitment to addressing real-world socioeconomic challenges. He has collaborated on projects related to food security, elderly labor supply, and the economic implications of welfare reform. His publications span over 20 years, with notable contributions to understanding wage elasticity, instrumental variable techniques, and the interplay between socioeconomic status and health outcomes. Haider’s interdisciplinary approach bridges economics, demography, and public health to inform evidence-based policy decisions.
Sarah Halpern-Meekin is the Vaughan Bascom Professor of Women, Family and Community, and Professor of Human Development & Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Human Ecology. She holds affiliations with the La Follette School of Public Affairs, Department of Sociology, and multiple research centers including the Institute for Research on Poverty. Her research focuses on low-income families, romantic relationships, and government policies, with a particular emphasis on unconditional cash transfers and social poverty. Halpern-Meekin’s educational background includes a PhD in Sociology and Social Policy from Harvard University, a BA in Politics from Brandeis University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at Bowling Green State University. Her work bridges qualitative and quantitative methods, examining topics like labor force participation gaps among men, the impact of cash transfers on families, and the role of relationship instability in child well-being. Her research highlights themes such as the psychological and material effects of economic policies, the resilience of marginalized populations, and the interplay between individual agency and structural inequities. Notable projects include the Baby’s First Years Study, which investigates long-term impacts of cash transfers on child development. Halpern-Meekin has contributed to policy debates through media engagements, including discussions on pandemic-era poverty and the design of effective social safety nets. Her work underscores the importance of both financial and social resources in alleviating poverty and fostering family stability.
Dr. Jennifer Falbe is an Associate Professor of Nutrition and Human Development at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on programmatic, policy, and environmental interventions to prevent chronic diseases and reduce health disparities. Notably, she led the evaluation of Berkeley’s soda tax, the first of its kind in the U.S., and has examined healthy retail programs, multi-sector community interventions, and the impact of screen time on adolescent health. She employs quantitative and qualitative methods, including randomized controlled trials and observational studies, in clinical and community settings such as schools, childcare centers, and grocery stores. Dr. Falbe holds dual Sc.D. degrees in Nutrition and Epidemiology from Harvard University, as well as an MPH in Public Health Nutrition and a B.A. in Public Health from UC Berkeley. She is actively involved in mentorship, accepting applications from undergraduate and graduate students interested in her lab’s research areas. Key research interests include food policy, obesity prevention, environmental interventions (e.g., checkout policies, warning labels), and the social determinants of health. Her work often addresses disparities in low-income communities and ethnic minority groups. Education: Sc.D., Nutrition & Epidemiology, Harvard University M.P.H., Public Health Nutrition, UC Berkeley B.A., Public Health, UC Berkeley Recent projects include evaluations of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, healthy checkout policies, and the effects of climate change impact labels on consumer choices. She has also explored retailer perspectives on taxation and the role of environmental factors in dietary behaviors. Dr. Falbe’s grants include a UC Office of the President initiative to assess drinking water and sugar-sweetened beverage availability on UC Davis’ campus. Her lab emphasizes translating research into actionable policy and community-level interventions.
Dr Ruth Wallace is a Senior Lecturer at Edith Cowan University's School of Medical and Health Sciences. She holds a PhD in Public Health and has extensive experience in nutrition education, early childhood care, and occupational health. Her research focuses on improving health outcomes through evidence-based interventions in childcare settings and workforce development. Education: Doctor of Philosophy, Edith Cowan University (2016) Bachelor of Health Science Honours, Edith Cowan University (2011) Bachelor of Health Science, Edith Cowan University (2010) Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice, Edith Cowan University (2022) Research Interests: Dr Wallace's work addresses critical gaps in early childhood nutrition, food safety protocols, and health literacy. She pioneers initiatives like the Little Aussie Bugs program to enhance educators' nutritional knowledge and advocates for systemic improvements in childcare food provision. Her recent projects include analyzing firefighter exposure risks and designing global citizenship frameworks for public health training. Grants & Projects: Little Aussie Bugs (2024–2025): $19,990 Emotional Literacy Mindfulness Academy (2023–2024): $47,086 SNACPlus (2014–2016): $28,216 Supervision: Dr Wallace currently co-supervises PhD and master's projects on topics including parental online dating dynamics, chronic disease social connectedness, and digital tools for planetary health literacy. Completed projects include studies on firefighter occupational exposures and food allergy management in childcare. Labs/Teams: She collaborates with interdisciplinary teams in the ECU Survey Research Centre and leads the Supporting Nutrition for Australian Children (SNAC) initiative, a hub for early childhood nutrition resources.
Dr. Sheila Long is a Lecturer in the Department of Humanities at SETU Carlow, Ireland. Her work focuses on Children's Rights, Early Childhood Education, and Global South Development. She holds a PhD (EdD) from Queen's University Belfast and multiple postgraduate qualifications including a Postgraduate Diploma in Children's Rights from the University of Geneva. Dr. Long has led two major projects: 'Pathway Moz: Pathway 12: Catalyst Fund' (2024) and 'Pathways Mozambique - Potential for Agripreneurship & Technology for Women & Youth in Niassa' (2023-2024), both addressing development challenges in Mozambique through participatory design approaches. Her research explores child rights integration in early education curricula, with notable contributions to pedagogical frameworks emphasizing UN Convention principles. Recent work includes studies on protein-enriched food acceptability in Mozambique and digital education initiatives like the Global Citizen Education Podcast. Dr. Long actively organizes academic events such as the EC/SC Community of Practice conference and participates in global research ethics dialogues. Her work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in education and reducing inequalities.
