Principal Investigator
David Hammond
PhD
Professor, CIHR PHAC Chair in Applied Public Health
School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
Dr. Hammond’s research focuses on population-level interventions to reduce chronic disease, including obesity prevention policies. He is interested in how our eating patterns are influenced by both government policies and the food industry.
Favourite food: Sandwiches. Big ones.
Project Manager
Christine White
MSc
Project Manager
School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
Ms. White manages the International Food Policy Study, and conducts research on the impact of nutrition policies on adults and youth in Canada and internationally.
Favourite food: Thin-crust pizza
Canada
Lana Vanderlee
PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Nutrition, Université Laval
Dr. Vanderlee conducts national and international health policy research in the areas of food and nutrition. Her research examines how policies and interventions can help populations eat healthier and be healthier.
Favourite food: Dal bhat from Nepal
Rachel Acton
PhD
CIHR Health System Impact Fellow
Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Health Canada
School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
Dr. Acton conducts health policy research focused on food and nutrition in Canada and internationally. She is interested in how population-level interventions can influence our food environments and consumer behaviour.
Favourite food: Any fruits or veggies fresh from the plant. Or good crusty bread with butter!
Joel Dubin
PhD
Associate Professor
Dept of Statistics & Actuarial Science, School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
Dr. Dubin focuses on biostatistics across many areas of health, including public health and clinical care. Much of his work emphasizes developing methods for modeling complex longitudinal data and predictive modeling.
Favourite food: Peanut butter and banana smoothies
Sharon Kirkpatrick
PhD, RD
Associate Professor, Nutritionist
School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
Dr. Kirkpatrick’s research interests and expertise includes assessment of dietary intakes, diet patterns among populations, food insecurity, and food environments.
Favourite food: Avocado
Tarra Penney
PhD
Assistant Professor, Policy Evaluation
School of Global Health, Faculty of Health, York University
Dr. Penney’s research focuses on the prevention of chronic disease through understanding and addressing the structural factors that shape diet quality at the population level. She is particularly interested in the identification and evaluation of policies that aim to modify the healthfulness and sustainability of the food supply.
Favourite food: Valley apples
Monique Potvin Kent
PhD
Associate Professor
School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa
Dr. Potvin Kent is a multidisciplinary applied public health researcher that focuses on the prevention of chronic disease through food and nutrition policies. She is an expert on children’s exposure to food and beverage marketing and the impact of policies in this area.
Favourite food: Oysters (preferably accompanied by a nice glass of white wine)
Australia
Gary Sacks
PhD
Associate Professor
Global Obesity Centre, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University
Dr. Sacks’ research focuses on policies for the prevention of obesity and related diseases. He is particularly interested in ways to increase the accountability of governments and businesses for their roles in improving population health, and generating evidence to inform policy change.
Favourite food: Berry cheesecake
Adrian Cameron
PhD
Associate Professor
Global Obesity Centre, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University
Dr. Cameron is an epidemiologist whose research is focused on influencing retail food environments to promote healthier eating at a population scale. He has a particular interest in the supermarket food environment and his work spans real-world trials, epidemiology and policy-focused monitoring and evaluation.
Favourite food: Mangoes
Mexico
Simón Barquera
MD, PhD
Director, Nutrition and Health Research Center
Mexican National Institute of Public Health (INSP)
Dr. Barquera is the research leader of the Obesity, Diabetes and Cardiovascular risk research line at INSP. His work includes national health and nutrition surveys, intervention and modeling studies. He coordinates the efforts of the Mexican Academic Expert group on Front-of-pack labeling systems and is a member of the INFORMAS network and the World Obesity Federation Scientific Committee.
Favourite food: “Aguachile” shrimp (a Mexican spicy marinated dish similar to ceviche)
Alejandra Jáuregui de la Mota
PhD
Chair, Department of Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyles
Mexican National Institute of Public Health (INSP)
Dr. Jáuregui’s main research interests are related to the role of the policy, social and built environment for promoting healthy lifestyles – physical activity and healthy dietary intake – and preventing non-communicable diseases, especially obesity and diabetes.
Favourite food: Thai food
United Kingdom
Jean Adams
PhD
Senior University Lecturer, Dietary Public Health
Centre for Diet & Activity Research, MRC Epidemiology Unit
University of Cambridge
Dr. Adams’ work is focused on population-level interventions to improve dietary public health. Her current work is evaluating the UK sugary drinks tax, planning policy to control hot food takeaways, and in-store nutritional labelling.
Favourite food: Big meal-in-a-bowl salads. And cake.
Martin White
MD
Professor, Director of Research, Centre for Diet & Activity Research
MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge
Dr. White leads research on food systems, diet and health. He generates evidence to inform policies to improve diet and health. He has a particular interest in the role of the commercial food system in determining diet, and how change in the food system can be levered for public health benefit.
Favourite food: Hot brunch – eggs any way, sour dough bread & freshly brewed coffee
United States
Rachel Davis
PhD, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education & Behavior
Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina
Dr. Davis’s research seeks to understand how culture, race, and ethnicity influence health communication and survey methodology, with a particular focus on improving nutrition outcomes among Latino populations.
Favourite food: Strong Irish tea, with lots of milk.
Christina Roberto
PhD
Assistant Professor, Medical Ethics & Health Policy
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Roberto is a psychologist and epidemiologist whose research aims to identify and understand factors that promote unhealthy eating behaviors and design policies and interventions to improve eating habits. Dr. Roberto is Director of the Psychology of Eating And Consumer Health lab, or PEACH lab.
Favourite food: Cherries (but I love peaches too!)
Jim Thrasher
PhD
Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education & Behavior
Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina
Researcher and Visiting Professor, National Institute of Public Health, Mexico
Dr. Thrasher’s research mostly assesses the effects of media and policy on nutrition- and smoking-related perceptions and behavior. Much of this research has focused on the effects of product packaging and health information labels, with studies across a variety of countries in the Americas.
Favourite food: Tacos al pastor – grilled, spicy pork with pineapple, onions, and cilantro – ideally with a peanut salsa and handmade corn tortillas
Chile
Marcela Reyes
PhD
Assistant Professor
Center for Research in Food Environments and Nutrition-Related Chronic Diseases, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INTA), University of Chile
Dr. Reyes’ research aims to assess diet, nutrition knowledge, and attitudes towards foods, diet and health, in large groups of children and adolescents. She is currently working on the evaluation of the Chilean Law of Food Labeling and Advertising.
Favourite food: Porotos Granados (a Chilean bean stew usually eaten in summertime, cooked with fresh cranberry beans, corn, camote squash, onions and sweet basil)
Belgium
Stefanie Vandevijvere
PhD
Senior Scientist, Public Health Nutrition
Sciensano
Dr. Vandevijvere’s research focuses on nutrition policies for obesity prevention. Her work aims to support the development and implementation of policies to effectively and equitably improve the quality of population diets. In particular she has an interest in the role of food environments in determining people’s dietary habits.
Favourite food: Ginger
