Anastasia Marshak

Biography 

Dr. Anastasia Marshak is an Assistant Research Professor at the Friedman School and a Senior Researcher at the Feinstein International Center. Her work focuses on strengthening humanitarian nutrition by generating actionable evidence for policy and programs operating in complex, crisis-affected settings. She specializes in identifying the drivers of malnutrition across the treatment–prevention continuum. Her work advances quantitative and mixed-methods approaches designed to better inform humanitarian decision-making. She examines how environmental, livelihood, and institutional factors shape malnutrition risk, with a particular emphasis on seasonal dynamics.

In addition to nutrition, her research spans early marriage, conflict-related livelihood disruptions, and access to services, and she has contributed expertise to high-profile investigations—including analyzing human rights abuses in northern Uganda for an International Criminal Court (ICC) trial.

Education

Dr. Marshak received her BS from Tufts University in Economics and International Relations. She holds an MA from Boston University in Economics and a PhD from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science in Policy with a focus on humanitarian assistance. Prior to joining the Feinstein International Center, Anastasia worked for the MIT Poverty Action Lab and the World Bank in Sierra Leone. She lives in Melrose with her three cats and husband.

Specializations

Climate, Sustainability, and Food; Humanitarian Assistance