Oluyemisi Akinsola

I have dedicated my entire career to nutrition sciences, having studied nutrition and dietetics for my bachelor's and master's degrees, and I am now completing my PhD in Nutritional Sciences at Utah State University. My research focuses on child and adolescent nutrition, specifically the food environment, ultra-processed foods, and micronutrient adequacy and how they relate to metabolic syndrome. I chose to focus on adolescents because I discovered a critical gap in nutrition programming - while significant resources have been invested in children under 5 and pregnant women, the adolescent population representing the 7,000 days between early childhood and adulthood has been largely neglected in health research and the health sector. Before my doctoral studies, I worked as a program manager with Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition on large-scale nutrition projects focusing on youth and young women in the agribusiness sector, managing workforce nutrition programs that encouraged farmers to consume the biofortified crops they were growing. Currently, I work in the Inclusive Food Access Lab as a research assistant, where I conducted an in-depth food audit of 238 validated food stores in Logan last summer. I also work independently as a nutrition consultant through Upwork, where I review papers, conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and consult with small non-profit organizations on program evaluation. My long-term goal is to become a Nutrition Policy Consultant to influence policy at the school level and within the food environment to ensure overall health and well-being for the entire population.