About the Research Team

The FADS Research Team

Principle Investigators

Co-PI: Wenhui Feng, PhD MPP

Assistant Professor, Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Feng is a health policy researcher and quantitative policy analyst with expertise in public health policy whose research interest is in food and obesity policies, and safety net programs, and its impact on low-income Americans.

Co-PI: Sean B. Cash, Ph.D

Associate Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. Dr. Cash is an agricultural economist with expertise in consumer behavior around food and nutrition and research focused on how food, nutrition, and environmental interventions and policies affect both producers and consumers.

Collaborators

Collaborator: Sara C. Folta, Ph.D

Dr. Folta is an Associate Professor at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Policy and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, both at Tufts University. Dr. Folta’s research focuses on public health nutrition, or the utilization of community-based strategies for improving dietary intake, physical activity, and body composition. She has particular expertise in behavioral psychology, communications, and qualitative methods.

Collaborator: Elina T. Page, Ph.D

Dr. Page is an agricultural economist with expertise in household scanner data in the Food Economics Division of USDA’s Economic Research Service. Dr. Page’s research investigates the array of factors that impact household food choices, including food safety, food labels, and food access.

Collaborator: Lauren Chenarides, Ph.D

Dr. Chenarides’ research focuses on food economics, studying the nexus between food choice, retailer competition, and public policy and understanding barriers to accessing affordable, healthy foods and the consequences of poor food access on consumer spending, diet, and health; analyzing trends and developments in food retailer competition, market concentration, and marketing strategies; and, examining the impact of entry by non-traditional food retailers on local competition.

Current Research Assistants

Research Assistant: Ishmam Khan

Ishmam is a Data Analytics M.S. candidate at Tufts University. He is currently a research assistant for the RIDGE project working on data analysis for the team.

Research Assistant: Sage Loomis

Sage is a Food and Nutrition Policy and Programs M.S. candidate at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. She is currently a Research Assistant for the dollar stores team working on grant support and literature review.

Research Assistant: Yongyi Pan

Yongyi is a MS/MPH candidate of Nutrition Epidemiology and Data Science / Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the School of Medicine, Tufts University. She is currently a Research Assistant for the dollar store food purchase team and is working on project data management and analysis.

Research Assistant: Nicole Barry

Nicole is an M.S. candidate in the Agriculture, Food and Environment program at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She is currently a Research Assistant helping review and synthesize literature related to dollar store proliferation in the United States.

Doctoral Candidate: Alex Schmall

Ms. Schmall is a Nutrition & Behavioral Sciences Researcher at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, and a US Foreign Service Officer at USAID. She is currently completing her Ph.D. and is the lead author on a qualitative analysis ‘Dollar Store Shopping during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Fresno and Boston Shoppers’.

Project Alumni

Research Assistant: Becket Harney

Becket was a research assistant after graduating from the Friedman School with a Master’s degree from the Agriculture, Food, and Environment program. He supported funding applications and the publication of findings from the Food Access at Dollar Stores (FADS) workshop. He is currently the project administrator for the LASTING project and Healthy Diets Monitoring Initiative at the Friedman School.

Research Assistant: Yue Zhan

Ms. Zhan is a doctoral student at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. Her research interest is at the interface of economics and nutrition, and she is currently working on the associations among dollar store shopping behavior, dietary quality, and obesity.

Research Assistant: Bangyao (Jerry) Sun

Mr. Sun is a research assistant & Data Analyst at Tufts University. After his graduation at Tufts University, he is currently working as Research Analyst for Brattle Group, a leading Economic Consultancy. He also serves as Co-Chair for International China region for Tufts Admissions Network.

Research Assistant: Madison Reid

Ms. Reid is a research assistant at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, working on a thematic analysis project, ‘Media Coverage of Dollar Store Expansion and Access to Nutritious Food’.

Research Assistant: Shannon Fain

Ms. Fain is a Food and Nutrition Policies and Programs M.S. Candidate at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. She is currently a Research Assistant for the dollar store food purchase team and is working to generate translational materials on dollar store research as well as support applications for external funds.

Workshop Coordinator: Hailey Fromkin

Ms. Fromkin is an M.S. Candidate at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. Hailey was the FADS Workshop Coordinator and is currently a research assistant for the FADS post-workshop report and thematic analysis ‘Media Coverage of Dollar Store Expansion and Access to Nutritious Food’. She is also currently serving as the PI for an independent study on ‘The Impact of Marketing on Underage Drinking’ and as a research intern at Alcohol Justice.

Research Assistant: Charlotte Blumenthal

Ms. Blumenthal is an Agriculture, Food and Environment M.S. Candidate at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University. She is currently a Research Fellow with the Plant Based Foods Association.