Eileen Kennedy

Biography

Dr. Eileen Kennedy is a former dean of the Friedman School. Currently a professor at the School, Kennedy is a leading expert in global food security and nutrition policy, with research focused on assessing how policies and programs influence health, dietary patterns, and food security outcomes. She has made major contributions to diet quality research, including founding the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and creating the Healthy Eating Index, one of the most widely used measures of overall diet quality. Her work also spans nutrient density, diet diversity, and agriculture‑nutrition linkages, and she has served on high‑level global advisory bodies, such as the UN Committee on World Food Security’s High Level Panel of Experts and the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on Food Security and Nutrition.

Education

• D.Sc., School of Public Health, Harvard University
• M.S., School of Public Health, Harvard University
• M.S., Pennsylvania State University
• B.A. Hunter College

Specializations

Food Policy, Programs, and Economics; Nutrition, Diet, and Disease Across the Lifecycle

Research Activities

• PI - Zero Hunger Transitions: A Framework for Understanding Progress and Setbacks on Sustainable Development Goal 2 (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
• PI - Feed the Future Ethiopia Growth through Nutrition Activity
• Co PI - Nutrition Innovation Lab