Meet the Students: Davrina Rianda
Graduate Group in Nutritional Biology
Davrina Rianda, MD
Prior Education
Bachelor of Medicine, The University of Indonesia, 2013
Medical Doctorate, The University of Indonesia, 2014
Master of Nutrition, The University of Indonesia, 2019
Graduate Group
Graduate Group in Nutritional Biology
Projected Graduation Year: 2026/2027
Research Focus Area
My research combines community-based nutrition research with biostatistical methods to understand when, what, and how nutrition interventions can improve early-life development and reduce long-term disparities. I focus on evaluating maternal and child nutrition interventions and identifying sensitive periods for intervention through early-life growth trajectories across diverse settings.
Background
I am trained as a physician and hold a master’s degree in nutrition. After working as a general physician for several years, I pursued graduate training in nutrition, where I discovered my interest in research. During my master’s training, I struggled to find appropriate instruments to evaluate child cognition, which led me to question how programs could be properly evaluated without reliable measurement tools. This experience prompted me to engage more deeply with research methods and data analysis, and finally shaped my decision to pursue research as my career focus.
What sparked your initial interest in the field of global nutrition?
My interest in global nutrition began through both personal experience and clinical work. My daughter was born with low birth weight, which made early nutrition personal and motivated me to explore how early growth shapes later health. As a physician, I also worked with children whose health and development were affected by nutritional challenges that could have been prevented. Seeing similar issues across different settings led me to pursue training in global nutrition to better understand how early-life nutrition influences long-term health and development.
Why did you decide to attend UC Davis?
I was first drawn to UC Davis through my exposure to the work of my late PI, Dr. Elizabeth Prado, on early-life nutrition and brain development. As I learned more about UC Davis, I became increasingly interested in its collaborative research environment, particularly within the Institute for Global Nutrition community. UC Davis also has strong research in infant attention and memory alongside nutrition interventions, which closely aligns with my research interests. I was also drawn to the campus focus on sustainability and its supportive environment for parents, which made it a strong overall fit for me.
Experience at UC Davis
What are your most significant research accomplishments so far?
One of my most significant research accomplishments has been developing the ability to apply advanced analytic methods in nutrition research. One of my dissertation projects used latent class trajectory modeling to identify child growth trajectories–an approach I had never used before. This accomplishment reflects a long process of persistence rather than a single milestone. I did not have formal training in advanced statistics during my undergraduate or master’s education, so I gradually built these skills by taking analytic courses at UC Davis and through Coursera, experimenting with code, and going through multiple iterations that pushed me to become comfortable with making mistakes. Throughout this process, regular discussions with my PI, Dr. Christine Stewart, as well as Charles Arnold and other collaborators, helped me refine my thinking and improve my work, even when progress felt slow. I also pushed myself to present ongoing work in IGN lab meeting to stay accountable, despite uncertainty about whether the modeling would succeed. This project was recognized with a first-place Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science award at ASN. More importantly, the experience taught me how to take risks, learn through failure, and open new directions for research. Being able to turn uncertainty into learning and new questions is the accomplishment I value most.
I am particularly proud of a recent paper I published in Nutrition Reviews, which presents a comprehensive review of the use of eye-tracking assessments to measure infant cognition in nutrition research. The review aims to advance nutrition intervention studies by highlighting an assessment that allows domain-specific evaluation and is feasible across different settings. Writing this paper allowed me to clearly articulate my questions, concerns, and future directions related to nutrition and brain development. Through this work, I hope to encourage more researchers to explore new approaches in the study of nutrition and early brain development.
What are your career goals after graduation?
After graduation, I hope to work in a setting where I can continue research on early-life nutrition and apply advanced analytic methods in ways that serve communities facing early-life adversity. I am particularly interested in making these analytic approaches more accessible to nutrition researchers, based on my experience with how they can reveal patterns that inform better questions and intervention. Much of my recent work has focused on growth trajectory analysis, and I hope to support its wider use in nutrition research. I am also interested in roles that involve engagement with policymakers and local or national stakeholders, while remaining connected to grassroots organizations so my work stays grounded in community needs.
When you aren’t working or studying, what do you do for fun?
When I am not working or studying, I am a big movie person. Friday movie night with my daughters and hot chocolate is the highlight of my week. I also love food and cooking, especially Indonesian dishes. Recently, I made telor balado, eggs in a tomato-based chili sauce, which is savory and comforting!