Doctoral Candidate
Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University
ect53@cornell.edu LinkedIN ORCID
Doctoral Candidate
Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University
kr489@cornell.edu LinkedIN ORCID
Doctoral Candidate
Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University
pr453@cornell.edu LinkedIN ORCID
Doctoral Candidate
Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University
ar2353@cornell.edu LinkedIN
Doctoral Candidate
Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University
Doctoral Student
Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University
sf543@cornell.edu LinkedIN ORCID
Doctoral Student
Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University
fc362@cornell.edu LinkedIN ORCID
Doctoral Student
Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University
dsd97@cornell.edu LinkedIN ORCID
Elizabeth is a PhD Candidate in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. She completed a Biology college degree at the University of Carabobo in Venezuela. She holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Trials from University of Seville, Spain and a Master’s in Biomedicine from University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Prior to joining the Mehta Research Group Elizabeth was working as full-time consultant for the World Health Organization conducting evidence assessment and systematic reviews for informing global guidelines related to nutrition policies, HIV/AIDS and child health. Elizabeth is currently developing research projects in Ecuador focusing on maternal and child health and the intersection between nutrition, inflammation and infectious diseases. Additionally, Elizabeth is conducting systematic reviews to assess the potential transmission of infectious diseases through breastfeeding and contribute to the development of evidence-based public health practices.
Kripa is a PhD Candidate in International Nutrition. She completed her undergraduate and graduate education in India (B.Sc. Life Sciences-Mumbai University; M.Sc. Food Science and Nutrition-S.N.D.T. Women’s University). Thereafter, she worked in India with marginalized communities and in the process identified gaps in both the system and her academic training and aimed to bridge the latter by pursuing an MS in Public Health (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) for which she moved to the United States. Her research interests include exploring risk factors of poor maternal and child health outcomes such as nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, infection, gut microbiome, etc. using an epidemiological lens. Outside of work, Kripa loves to dance and watch movies.
Pratiwi Ridwan is a PhD Candidate with a concentration in International Nutrition. Before attending Cornell University, she earned a Bachelor of Medical Science and Medical Doctor from Universitas Padjadjaran in Indonesia. She worked at the community health center for three years in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, where she gained her interest in infectious diseases and malnutrition. Pratiwi earned a Master of Science from Cornell University in 2019. Currently, she works with Mehta Research Group with the research focus on nutrition and immune response in different life stages, including women of reproductive age and early childhood. During her free time, Pratiwi loves to travel and enjoys film photography.
Andrea Robinson is a PhD candidate in the Nutritional Sciences with concentrations in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology and Epidemiology at Cornell University. Prior to Cornell, she was a National Cancer Institute Post-baccalaureate Fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she studied multi-drug resistance in cancer cells, specifically examining ABC transporters’ activity while co-expressed. Andrea received a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology in 2016, cum laude, from the University of North Texas. As a graduate student, Andrea has received the Cornell Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and Robert Mozia Graduate Distinguished Service Award. Her research interest includes examining the interaction of nutrition and the immune system, specifically vitamin D and vaccine response in children, which she is doing through a systematic literature review and a secondary analysis.
Naiwen is a third-year PhD candidate working with Dr. Saurabh Mehta, major in Nutritional Sciences and minor in Epidemiology and Data Science. She has a BS in Nutritional Sciences, clinical nutrition track, from the Pennsylvania State University. Her study focuses on understanding the dimension of diet-related factors and malnutrition among vulnerable populations including children, adolescents, and women of reproductive age in low/middle-income settings using both traditional statistical approaches and machine learning. Currently, she is working on multiple nationally representative complex surveys and investigating prevalence and determinants of double and triple burden of malnutrition among children and adolescents. Besides doing research, she enjoys music, movies and baking Chinese pastries.
Shah Mohammad Fahim is a Ph.D. student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. He is a physician who received his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. He holds a Master’s degree with Summa-Cum-Laude distinction in Public Health and Epidemiology from the American International University, Bangladesh. Prior to attending Cornell University, Fahim worked as an Assistant Scientist at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) where he was involved in multiple research projects focused on maternal and childhood malnutrition. He received Dr. Asma Islam Memorial Gold Medal Award in 2018 and Young Scientist Award in 2020 from the icddr,b for his research on enteropathy and nutritional impairment in young children. Fahim is passionate about nutrition-infection interaction, perturbed immune regulation and gut microbial dysbiosis during early years of life. He is keen to understand the intricate biological pathways of nutritional impairment and develop effective interventions across cultures and societies to transform the landscapes of global public health nutrition.
Françoise Cattaneo is a first year PhD student in the Division of Nutrition Sciences at Cornell University with the concentration International Nutrition. She completed her Master’s degree in Nutritional Epidemiology at Wageningen University (The Netherlands & Kenya) and her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and Public Health at Boston University (USA & Switzerland). Her interests lie around food environments, epidemiology, sustainable food systems, and data science. Her former research focused on assessing diet quality and low-burden dietary assessment tools in (agro)pastoralist settings. Prior to attending Cornell University, Françoise worked for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) on the Innovation for Health and Planet and Knowledge Leadership teams. In her personal time, she facilitates interactive workshops around participatory methodologies that trigger food systems thinking. She loves the mountains, sharing food, and morning sun salutations.
Dhruthi Devulapalli is a first-year PhD student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University. She has a masters in clinical nutrition from India. Before joining the PhD program, she worked with Tata Trusts and Clinton Health Access Initiative, where she led capacity building, demand generation, data-backed decision-making, supportive supervision, and millet-based interventions to improve the health outcomes of ~21 million individuals. Her passion for nutrition and public health encouraged her to pursue a PhD in International Nutrition. Her areas of interest include Micronutrient deficiencies; Anemia; Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) and Millet-based interventions. She aims to research on sustainable and cost-effective strategies to reduce anemia and improve the RMNCH+A outcomes. She also loves cooking, cycling, candle-making, and traveling with loved ones in her free time.