Sustainability Research Directory

Collin Timm, PhD, is a senior staff scientist interested in environmental and human microbiomes, as well as plant biology and the effects of environmental conditions on organisms within an ecosystem.

Polly Walker, MPH, MD, studies the environment, sustainable agriculture, food security and ecology.

D'Ann Williams, DrPH, focuses on addressing the complex issues around Industrial Food Animal Production, drawing on her many years of experience of community-based participatory projects, collaboration, program support, and research on food safety, environmental health, and air quality.

Julia Wolfson, PhD MPP researches at the nexus of public health policy and health behavior and centers on individual, environmental, and policy level factors that influence food choices, food behaviors, food security, and diet related health outcomes. Dr. Wolfson uses qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods to understand the multi-level barriers and facilitators to individual’s ability to consume healthy and sustainable diets. A former professional chef who cooked in fine dining restaurants for a decade before transitioning to public health, much of Dr. Wolfson’s work has focused on home cooking as a health behavior that shapes food choices, food security, and dietary quality. Dr. Wolfson is a leading international expert in food agency, a novel way to conceptualize and measure food and cooking skills needed to procure and prepare food within the context of one’s social, physical, and economic environment. Other research focuses on causes and consequences of food insecurity across the life course and upstream structural and policy factors to address diet quality and food security, particularly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) policies. Finally, Dr. Wolfson conducts research to inform and evaluate policies, such as food and menu labels, to facilitate healthier and environmentally sustainable food choices. In particular, Dr. Wolfson is currently evaluating the effect of climate impact food and menu labels to promote healthier and more sustainable food choices.

Benjamin Zaitchik, PhD, aims to understand and manage climatic and hydrologic variability.