Yale researcher Marlene Schwartz will be the next director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale. Schwartz, who is currently associate director of the center, succeeds Kelly Brownell, who co-founded the Rudd Center with Leslie Rudd in 2005.
“Marlene Schwartz is uniquely qualified to be the Rudd Center’s next leader,” said Brownell. “In addition to her reputation as an accomplished scholar, she is known for her ability to work at the intersection of science and public policy. Her creativity and passion will shape the next successful chapter of the Rudd Center.”
Schwartz received her Ph.D. in psychology from Yale in 1996. Prior to joining the Rudd Center, she served as co-director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders. Her research examines how children’s diets and health are influenced by home, school, and community environments. Based on these findings, she empirically tests how local, state, and federal policies can facilitate improved nutrition. Schwartz has received grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and the Horizon Foundation.
“Right now, we live in a world where it is difficult for parents to feed their children well, and people are discriminated against based on body size and weight. This must change,” said Schwartz. “At the Rudd Center, we are working to create a world that supports parents’ efforts to raise nourished, healthy children, and eliminates weight stigma and discrimination.”
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New director announced for Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity,
