Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, PhD, RD
PhD, Tufts University; RD, Case Western Reserve University
About Dr. Ohri-Vachaspati
Senior Affiliated Faculty & Consultants
Punam Ohri-Vachaspati is a professor of nutrition at the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University, where she leads the ASU Food Policy and Environment Research Group. Her research examines social determinants of health, specifically, in low-income, minority communities. She studies the impact of federal, state, and local policies in shaping food and physical activity environments in school settings and in communities. Her work assesses relationship of access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity with health outcomes and associated behaviors. Her work has been funded by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, among others.
She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Public Health Nutrition, and Nutrients. She teaches graduate-level courses and mentors students interested in exploring nutrition policy and public health approaches for improving healthy food access, eating behaviors, and health outcomes. She recently spent a semester at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, working with the Nutrition Division in the Action for Food Systems Unit. In 2016-17, Dr. Ohri-Vachaspati completed the RWJF Health Policy Fellowship working on healthcare and nutrition issues in Senator Gillibrand’s (D-NY) office. Dr. Ohri-Vachaspati is a registered dietitian and received her PhD degree from Tufts University School of Nutrition in Food Policy and Applied Nutrition. She completed her undergraduate education at University of Delhi, India.