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Archives
Please use the links below to access the summary reports for our previous conferences, which contain information on the academic institutions and professional organizations in attendance:
2022 – 2022 Symposium Summary Report
2021 – 2021 Symposium Summary Report
Below, please find recordings from many of our sessions last year in our attempt to disseminate the knowledge, skills, and diverse perspectives presented here to the greater nutrition and public health science community!
Keynote Addresses
Citation: Frizzell L (2021). American Indian and Alaska Native Nutrition. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Description: This keynote focuses on the legal background and federal government responsibilities for American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/ANs), as well as examining nutrition issues facing AI/AN communities, reviewing historical health implications, providing a brief analysis of health legislation and the unique AI/AN public health and wellness system.
Speaker: Dr. Linda Frizzell, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Moderator: Andrea Strauss, MS'22, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Panel Discussions
Citation: Westerman K, Sebastiani P, Ordovas J, Jorge, M (2021). Nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics, and precision nutrition: the role of big data and advancing technologies. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Description: This panel discusses the role of nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics, and precision nutrition in health outcomes and how they may be used to predict responses to specific diets, foods, or nutrients. Where is the research currently? Where is it headed? The conversation focuses on the use of big data, analytics, and artificial intelligence in advancing technologies like genetic and microbiome testing and wearable devices and apps. The panel also discusses the pros and cons of precision nutrition approaches versus public health, planetary health, and/or sustainable nutrition approaches.
Moderator: Kenny Westerman, Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Milena Jorge, Vice President of Science, InsideTracker (Segterra)
Citation: Valderrama AV, Dao MC, Folta S, Mendez-Lazaro P, Mattei J, Zhen-Duan J (2021). Mitigating disparities in nutrition and public health. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Description: This panel discusses health disparities affecting racial minority groups and how data can help mitigate such disparities. The panelists discuss why disparities arise, the problems they create, and how to address them.
Dr. Jenny Zhen-Duan, Instructor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Citation: Hager K, George C, Thomas K, Esguerra C, Makadia P, Downer S (2021). A discussion on food is medicine interventions. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Workshop Materials:
Description: “Food Is Medicine” interventions are of rapidly growing interest to health care systems, payers, patients, and policy makers. Such programs integrate payment for or direct provision of healthy food to patients in a health care intervention to improve diet-related health outcomes. Major examples include produce prescriptions and medically tailored meals. This panel discusses innovative Food is Medicine policies and programs across the United States that are guided by and/or contributing to public health nutrition research. The conversation focuses on the intersection of government programs, implementation efforts in healthcare and community-based organizations, evaluation processes, and emerging Food is Medicine legislative and policy proposals.
Moderator: Kurt Hager, PhD '23, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Presenters:
Carmen George, MEQ Manager, Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE)
Kymie Thomas, FVRx Specialist, Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE)
Dr. Chris Esguerra, Chief Medical Officer, DME Consulting Group
Dr. Preyanka Makadia, Medical Officer, Indian Health Services
Citation: Wilhite B, Rose K, Cory H, Farrell A, Williams L (2021). Sociocultural influences on body size ideals: Mitigating the effects of weight bias in nutrition and public health. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Workshop Materials:
Description: Beginning with an overview of the racial and gender origins of fat phobia, fat shaming, and weight stigma in American mainstream society, this panel discussion unpacks the impact that these origins have on contemporary views of the body leading to the coined phrase, “obesity epidemic” that pervades modern media’s description of body image and what it means to be ‘healthy.’ Examined through both a micro (i.e., the individual) and a macro (i.e., society) lens, this panel discusses and debates not only how we got to where we are but where we - as nutritional advocates, policy makers, and researchers – may go from here.
Moderator: Breanne Wilhite, PhD '23, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Presenters:
Kelsey Rose, Leadership Education in Adolescent Health, Boston Children's Hospital
Hannah Cory, PhD '23, Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Amy Farrell, Ann and John Curley Chair of Liberal Arts, Dickinson College
Dr. Lesley Williams, Family Medicine Physician and Eating Disorder Specialist
Technical Workshops
Citation: Monahan K (2021). How to Install R and RStudio Software. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Workshop Materials:
- Step-by-step download guide and R resources through Tufts DataLab
- Additional helpful resources when coding in R software
Download Guides for Various Software
- R and RStudio Download Guide
- SAS Download Guide
- Stata Download Guide
- Tableau Download Guide
- MATLAB Download Guide
- Python Download Guide
Description: In this session, Kyle Monahan discusses how to install R software on your computer.
Presenter: Kyle Monahan, Senior Data Science Specialist, Tufts University
Citation: Monahan K (2021). Choosing a statistical software for your profession. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Workshop Materials:
- PowerPoint presentation used in recording
- Step-by-step download guide and R resources through Tufts DataLab
- Additional helpful resources when coding in R software
Description: In this workshop, Kyle Monahan discusses how to choose your statistical software toolkit when planning professional development, including which software is commonly used in specific professions, benefits and limitations of software, and an introduction to the basic interface of each software.
Presenter: Kyle Monahan, Senior Data Science Specialist, Tufts University
Citation: Sanchez E, Schipper K, Langlois B, Simpson RB, Monahan K (2021). Comparisons across R/RStudio, Stata, and SAS - Part I. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Description: This workshop provides a side-by-side comparison of three commonly used statistical software: Stata, SAS, R, and RStudio. This introductory workshop provides information on what types of professional organizations use each type of software, how the coding software operates, and differences in the quality of statistical output such as tables and visualizations. Additional topics include how to load data and how to operate in each of the software's interfaces.
Workshop Materials:
- R and RStudio data files and code
- Stata software data files and code
- SAS software data files and code
- Additional helpful resources when coding in R software
Presenters:
Emily Sanchez, PhD '23, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Kees Schipper, MS '21, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Bree Langlois, PhD '23, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Ryan Simpson, PhD '22, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Kyle Monahan, Senior Data Science Specialist, Tufts University
Citation: Sanchez E, Schipper K, Langlois B, Simpson RB, Monahan K (2021). Comparisons across R/RStudio, Stata, and SAS - Part II. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Description: This workshop provides a side-by-side comparison of commands used in Stata, SAS, R, and RStudio to learn multiple languages simultaneously. Topics include how to load data, create new variables, perform descriptive statistics, perform tests of comparisons and associations, create basic visual aids (histograms, bar plots), and run simple regressions in each software.
Workshop Materials:
- R and RStudio data files and code
- Stata software data files and code
- SAS software data files and code
- Additional helpful resources when coding in R software
Presenters:
Emily Sanchez, PhD '23, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Kees Schipper, MS '21, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Bree Langlois, PhD '23, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Ryan Simpson, PhD '22, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Kyle Monahan, Senior Data Science Specialist, Tufts University
Citation: Naumova EN (2021). Data visualization: Past, present, and future. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Workshop Materials:
Description: This talk is a brief journey into a world of data visualization: from the first depiction a wind rose by medieval sailors to modern dynamic maps of infectious outbreaks – an evolution from a simple notion of a graph to an interdisciplinary research field. Graphical presentations are now broadly accepted as a powerful tool for communicating science; they could be simple and complex, attractive and misleading, intuitive, disturbing and fascinating. What attracts us the most in graphical depictions? Is it their content, clarity, abstraction, imagination, ability to tell a story or condense lots of data points? The history of graphical presentations is teaching us the value of critical thinking and creativity. The future of data visualizations is in expanding our abilities to use this powerful language of science wisely.
Citation: Hartwick MA (2021). Constructing visuals in R using ggplot. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Workshop Materials:
Description: This workshop reviews the technical side of creating data visualizations within GGPLOT and Rshiny. Participants do not have to be experienced with R to attend the workshop - this session will review the basics of creating data visualizations and ways to manipulate plot properties in R.
Presenter: Dr. Meghan Hartwick, Data Science Fellow, The National Institutes of Health
Citation: Alarcon-Falconi TM (2021). Effective data visuals. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Workshop Materials:
Description: This workshop aims to provide tools and techniques to analyze, critique, and create data visualizations. We will discuss key concepts, critically evaluate graphical displays, and identify best practices for creating effective visualizations.
Presenter: Dr. Tania M. Alarcon-Falconi, Senior Scientist, Environmental Health and Engineering
Citation: Webb P (2021). Effective oral presentation of data-driven research. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Workshop Materials:
Description: Dr. Webb outlines techniques for effectively communicating scientific research orally and shares high experiences presenting to a variety of audiences, including the scientific community and policymakers. He discusses different presentation formats, how to keep an audience’s attention, and how to use visuals to complement your oral presentation.
Presenter: Dr. Patrick Webb, Professor, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Citation: Kummer C (2021). Effective writing for scientific and media audiences. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Description: In this workshop, Corby Kummer outlines techniques for effectively communicating research for scientific audiences and the general public. The workshop highlights key elements and areas of focus for different audiences, how to cater writing to your audience, and how to maintain your voice in your work.
Presenter: Corby Kummer, Senior Lecturer, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Citation: El-Abbadi N (2021). Metrics of diet sustainability. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Workshop Materials:
Description: In this workshop, Dr. El-Abbadi discusses sustainability metrics used for assessing nutrition diet quality in research studies. Her presentation focuses on how to define diet metrics, challenges in selecting reference groups to assess quality, and ethical considerations.
Career Conversations
Citation: Palmer M, Brown A, Carroll L, Obadia J, Patterson B (2021). Career conversation in food policy and community nutrition. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Description: In this panel, graduates of the Tufts Friedman School who work in food policy and community nutrition discuss their current jobs and career trajectories and provide advice for graduate students looking to pursue careers in their field. Panelists include professionals working in government, lobbying, and non-profit organizations.
Presenters:
Dr. Alison Brown, Program Director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Laura Carroll, Nutrition Policy Analyst, US Food and Drug Administration
Dr. Jennifer Obadia, Director of Healthcare Partnerships, Project Bread
Barbara Patterson, Vice President, Michael Torrey Associates
Citation: Palmer M, Cheatham R, Curle C, Jaidka R, Schaffner K (2021). Career conversation in food business and innovation. 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University (Virtual).
Description: In this panel, graduates of the Tufts Friedman School who work in food business and innovation discuss their current jobs and career trajectories and provide advice for graduate students looking to pursue careers in their field. Panelists include professionals working in food business who focus on sustainability, supply chains, communications, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
Presenters:
Dr. Rachel Cheatham, Founder and CEO, Foodscape Group
Carla Curle, Account Executive, FoodMinds
Ravdeep Jaidka, Vice President and Sourcing Manager, Equal Exchange