Ronit Ridberg
Research Assistant Professor
Dr. Ridberg’s research sits at the intersection of community nutrition and health care delivery with a focus on “food is medicine” programs and policies aimed to improve food security, nutrition security and health equity. Highly collaborative, her publications dedicated to produce prescription programs include outcomes for pregnant women, children and households; within rural Tribal communities; as part of a health system’s electronic medical record keeping; and on health care providers’ clinical workflow. She will bring this expertise to the Friedman School while pursuing additional interdisciplinary collaborations across Tufts and with external institutions and organizations. Her prior research and policy advocacy focused on the scaling of regional food systems’ distribution infrastructure through institutional purchasing policies (e.g. in schools, hospitals, state agencies and prisons) as well as business development for regional food hubs.
Dr. Ridberg will aim to create new interlinkages and synergies with the Tufts School of Medicine around research and translation on Food is Medicine and nutrition security.
Dr. Ridberg serves as a member of the California Food is Medicine Coalition’s Medical Advisory Council and is an external consultant to the Rockefeller Foundation’s Food Initiative.
Education
Dr. Ridberg returns to the Friedman School more than a decade after receiving her Master’s degree in its Agriculture, Food and Environment program, and comes most recently from the University of California, Davis, where she earned her PhD in Nursing Science and Health Care Leadership at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. She completed postdoctoral training within the UC Davis School of Medicine as well as its Center for Healthcare Policy and Research.