Meet the Faculty

Dr. Christine M. McDonald is a nutritional epidemiologist whose research focuses on developing and evaluating interventions to

 improve maternal and child nutrition in low-resource settings. Her work examines how nutrition interventions can prevent micronutrient deficiencies, improve health outcomes, and be incorporated into effective public health programs.

Dr. Reina Engle-Stone is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition and a faculty member of the Institute for Global Nutrition at UC Davis. She currently serves as Chair of the Designated Emphasis in Global Nutrition.

Dr. Lauren Au is an Associate Professor of Nutrition at UC Davis. Her work focuses on harnessing artificial intelligence to improve dietary assessment technologies and examining how cross-utilization of nutrition safety net programs influences nutrition security and health outcomes. She has extensive experience evaluating nutrition policy changes within the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the National School Lunch Program.

Dr. Sonja Hess serves as the Interim Director of the Institute for Global Nutrition at UC Davis, where she holds a position as Research Nutritionist. Her research interest lies in the assessment and prevention of vitamin and mineral deficiencies in low- and middle-income countries. Over the past two decades she has worked closely with many collaborators in Africa, Asia and Latin America aiming to improve nutrition and health of young children and women. She has a long publication record with over 130 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters in global nutrition.