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Biography
Christina Economos, PhD, Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, is a prominent leader of interdisciplinary research in childhood obesity prevention, community-based nutrition interventions, food is medicine, and nutrition science serving as a Professor at the Friedman School, and co-founder of ChildObesity180. Her pioneering research has brought evidence-based, systems-level solutions to the forefront of policy and practice. Her research seeks to understand the environmental, behavioral, and social factors driving chronic disease risk, and she collaborates with communities, policymakers, and national organizations to translate evidence into effective, equitable health strategies.
Dr. Economos’ research is widely recognized for catalyzing real-world change supported by funding totaling over $60M from major institutions and organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of Agriculture, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Walmart Foundation. She currently serves as the Principal Investigator on several large-scale interventions that address diet, chronic disease prevention, and food systems, with a focus on populations living in areas with disproportionate heath burdens. Through innovative collaborations with scientists, policymakers, and community partners, Dr. Economos translates complex evidence into policy, practice, and systems changes.
As the co-founder and former Director of ChildObesity180—a major research initiative at the Friedman School—her work has inspired cross-sector collaborations and nutrition interventions that address the multifaceted, complex drivers of child health across the United States and around the globe. She championed multidisciplinary collaboration by convening dozens of faculty across eight schools at Tufts as the co-creator and co-director of the Tufts Institute for Global Obesity Research (TIGOR), a university-wide institute to address global obesity. As the former Dean for Research Strategy, she led the growth of the Friedman School’s interdisciplinary, cutting-edge, and high-impact research.
Dr. Economos has published over 225 scientific papers and has served as a national thought leader on advisory boards and committees, including the American Heart Association, American Society for Nutrition, and the National Institutes of Health. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions (ROOS) at the National Academy of Medicine, a multisector group tackling obesity. Her work is actively transforming not just the science of nutritional wellbeing, but also the policies that guide it.
Dr. Economos is also a dedicated educator and mentor, and has guided over 150 M.S., Ph.D., and postdoctoral trainees. As Dean, she is leading a visionary and strategic transformation at the school to increase access to graduate-level nutrition degrees, expand and strengthen research activities, and translate and broadly communicate nutrition science and policy to support wellbeing for the world.
She holds a Bachelor of Science from Boston University, a Master of Science from Columbia University, and a Doctorate in Nutritional Biochemistry from Tufts University.
Read more about Dr. Economos’ active research projects, Delta GREENS, Catalyzing Communities, and HEART at Head Start.
