Khristopher M. Nicholas

Biography

Dr. Khristopher M. Nicholas is an interdisciplinary food systems scientist whose work examines human–environment interactions within climate-vulnerable food systems. His research explores how climate change and other environmental stressors shape planetary health outcomes—while also analyzing how human behavior both adapts to and influences these shifting conditions. Using mixed methods that integrate ecological data with community-driven insights, traditional ecological knowledge, and lived experience, he studies issues ranging from water security and childhood stunting to food access, livelihood resilience, and perceptions of healthy eating across global and U.S. contexts.

Dr. Nicholas earned a PhD in Nutrition from UNC Chapel Hill and a BA in Sustainable Development from Columbia University. Prior to Tufts, he completed a Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University. His non-academic loves include cycling, woodworking, science fiction novels, his cats, and no-recipe cooking.

Education

• Ph.D. in Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• B.A. in Sustainable Development, Columbia University

Specializations

Climate, Sustainability, and Food; Nutrition Equity

Research Interests

Dr. Nicholas’ research agenda is driven by the following two interrelated objectives:

• A methodological objective to link social and ecological systems by assessing the role of human behavior within environment-diet-health relationships.
• A focus on climate vulnerability and food sovereignty in settings that reflect the pitfalls of a global food system built on resource extraction and power imbalance.

Dr. Nicholas’ overarching research objective is to identify—and ultimately reinforce—new and existing strategies that foster resilience in climate-vulnerable settings. Reflecting his own upbringing in the Caribbean and Florida, much of his work builds on collaborations with communities practicing smallholder farming and small-scale fishing in climate vulnerable small island settings such as the Galápagos islands of Ecuador and in southwestern Madagascar. His work also explores food security in the United States, ranging from agricultural resilience to federal nutrition assistance program access.