Image
Biography
Dr. Owens’ research explores the multifaceted significance of food for human well-being in both international and domestic (U.S.) contexts, integrating theories and methods from anthropology and public health nutrition. Much of her research adopts a community-based approach to assess people’s lived experiences of food and nutrition insecurity, with particular attention on relational and psychosocial dynamics. Her current research focuses on developing, evaluating, and adapting “Food is Medicine” programs across diverse settings. She collaborates across disciplines to examine the scaling of produce prescription programs across rural and urban areas, the integration of social determinants screening in clinical care settings, and the effectiveness of multicomponent nutrition interventions.
In most of her projects, she triangulates survey and biometric data with in-depth interviews and participant observation to holistically identify program impacts and reveal variation in peoples’ experiences and health outcomes. She believes that the coalescence of diverse perspectives is crucial for advancing science, policy, and sociocultural practice. She welcomes collaborations that aim to advance health equity through nourishing foodways.