Meet the Students: Andrea M. Gil

Andrea M. Gil

Prior Education

Bachelor of Science in Food and Nutrition, CSU Sacramento, 2022

Graduate Group

Graduate Group in Nutritional Biology (GGNB)

Research Focus Area

My research in the Falbe lab aims to reduce disparities in cardiometabolic diseases through the development of interventions and policies that increase nutritional awareness and literacy. Specifically, my research focuses on health communication, marketing environments in food retailers, and improving health equity through the use of nutrient warning labels.

Background

For six years and while completing my undergraduate degree, I worked as a restaurant server. This experience provided me with my first continuous window into the diversity of consumer food preferences and dietary behaviors. During my undergraduate degree, I was also selected to join UC Davis Health’s Prep Médico program and shadowed physicians who provided me with a first glimpse to addressing patients’ health. I further broadened my perspective through a student internship at the CA Department of Education in the Nutrition Services Division. Together, these experiences highlighted how racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected by diet-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, deepening my commitment to improving human nutrition. After graduating, I worked at the USDA’s Western Human Nutrition Research Center (WHNRC) in Davis, CA where I became a laboratory technician, then a clinical research coordinator for a study testing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Now, I am engaged in public health nutrition research, particularly how it relates to consumers’ environments and behaviors.

Experience at UCD

As a Ph.D. and Institute for Global Nutrition (IGN) scholar thus far, I have worked on various projects to advance equitable effects of policies, such as 1) a message-framing experiment that assesses adults’ support for healthy checkout policies and 2) a randomized-controlled trial assessing campaign effectiveness for added-sugar warning menu labels through the use of a Spanish language-matched campaign. At UC Davis, I have been actively engaged in many leadership roles with the Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GradSAC) on campus for three academic years. GradSAC organizes an annual research symposium, mentors students, fundraises, and organizes social events. Additionally, in Dr. Jennifer Falbe’s lab, I have managed and analyzed data, trained and mentored undergraduate research assistants, moderated career support sessions, and assisted in data collection for five projects. 

Advice for Future Students

Though the Ph.D. journey may seem intimidating, UC Davis has many wonderful connections and opportunities for continued graduate student support. UC Davis also has an incredibly collaborative graduate group, where more experienced students and faculty help newer students navigate their graduate journeys. Within the GGNB, joining the Institute for Global Nutrition (IGN) has provided me with unique experiences where I have learned about my peers’ global nutrition research, heard about career and grant opportunities, shared my own research presentations, and received constructive feedback for the Preliminary Qualifying Exam and Qualifying Exam. IGN also provides additional office hours from our incredible mentor and statistician, Charles Arnold. If you are considering joining IGN, you should absolutely join. You will not regret it!

How do you see your research impacting the field of global nutrition? 

Ultimately, my goal is to become an independent food policy researcher who improves consumers’ nutrition knowledge by promoting healthier food environments. My research is inspired by policies that have been implemented in Latin America and Europe, and I hope to contribute to their implementation in the U.S. Through this work, I aim to generate evidence that will encourage policymakers, government officials, and stakeholders to enact policies that have the potential to improve nutrition knowledge and access to healthier foods. I envision myself collaborating with other public health researchers, community advocacy groups, health professionals, and policymakers to ensure that solutions are effective, feasible, and scalable. 

When you aren’t working or studying, what do you do for fun?

For fun, I like to spend time with my partner, family, friends, and dog by going to local events and breweries or wineries in Sacramento. I also spend a lot of my free time doing physical activity. I love running, yoga, biking, boxing, hiking, and taking group fitness classes. When I have a good chunk of time off, you might find me in another country. Additionally, I am in a book club with friends, learning Japanese using Duolingo, and I listen to lots of music.