NPI welcomes summer student interns to enhance research

Jul 15, 2022

This summer, the Nutrition Policy Institute has welcomed eight student interns who are supporting ongoing research and communications. The group is bringing new perspectives to NPI work, strengthening connections with the academic and local communities, and bolstering research. Laura Jacobs from the Tufts University Master of Public Health (MPH) program and Lisa Hu from the University of California, Berkeley are working with Kaela Plank and Janice Kao, respectively, to evaluate the CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) program with the California Department of Public Health, working to better understand CFHL efforts and improve program reach and implementation in under-resourced communities. Samantha Sam-Chen, an MPH student at the University of California, Berkeley, and Leslie Rivas, an undergraduate student at California State University, Stanislaus, are working with Wendi Gosliner to survey and evaluate the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) and the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program COVID Relief and Response (GusCRR) Nutrition Incentive Projects, which provide CalFresh shoppers with matching funds for the purchase of California-grown fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops. In addition, Jude Al-Abosy, an undergraduate student at Tufts University, is assisting Gosliner with a California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant that seeks to promote California-grown fruits and vegetables in California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation prisons. Fanta Jimissa is a Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) intern and undergraduate student at UC Berkeley working with Nicole Vital, Suzanne Rauzon, and Lorrene Ritchie to collect data and create educational infographics to communicate findings of a pilot study that examines how milk type influences toddler growth and development. Xiaoyun (Alice) Zheng, Tufts MPH, is working with Ritchie and Danielle Lee on secondary data analysis of a multi-state Women, Infants, and Children survey conducted in the spring and fall of 2021 as part of her capstone project. Cate Seel, a high school student at the College Preparatory School in Oakland, is working with Lee to support NPI's communications and social media efforts. The NPI team is grateful for the opportunity to mentor and work alongside future leaders in public health nutrition research, evaluation, and communications.


By Cate Seel
Author
By Danielle L. Lee
Editor - Director of Communications & Research Engagement