Sera Young’s advocacy and research to preserve global health, especially in low-resource settings, has been recognized by the American Society for Nutrition Foundation.
Highlights:
- Young’s Water Insecurity Experiences (WISE) Scale brings a human and global perspective to conventional water indicators. It is now used by over 100+ organizations worldwide.
- Her research focuses on understanding and creating solutions to improve maternal and child health, decreasing micronutrient deficiencies, and addressing food insecurity.
Sera Young, associate professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, has received the Norman Kretchmer Memorial Award in Nutrition and Development from the American Society for Nutrition Foundation (ASN). The award is given to a young investigator for a substantial body of independent research in the field of nutrition and development with potential relevance to improving child health.
“It’s thrilling to see our anthropological work being recognized with such a prestigious nutrition award,” said Young.
“Norman Kretchmer was deeply committed to the health and well-being of infants and children both in his research and in his role as Director of NIH’s National Institute for Child Health and Development. I feel very proud that the American Society for Nutrition thought enough of our work on maternal and child health to bestow this honor on me, and by extension, my many collaborators,” Young shared.
Young has spent her career understanding how mothers, especially in low-resource settings, cope to preserve their health and that of their families by drawing on her training in medical anthropology, international nutrition, and public health. She has significantly advanced science in the areas of infant feeding, micronutrient deficiencies, and food insecurity.
Young’s current research focuses on thinking about water in a new way by quantifying human experiences with problems with water and unpacking their consequences for nutrition, health, and well-being. She has led the development of the Water Insecurity Experiences (WISE) Scales (www.hwise.org) that generate high-resolution, globally comparable data that bring a human perspective to conventional water indicators. The scales are currently being implemented around the world by more than 100 governmental, policy, research, and civil organizations, including Gallup World Poll, UNESCO, UNICEF, and ENSANUT (Mexico’s National Health and Nutrition Survey).
She has co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, and received funding from NIH, NSF, USAID, and UKAID, among others. Awards include an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship and the Margaret Mead Award for her book about pica.
Learn more about the National Scientific Achievement Award here.
In the “Conversation with the Dean” video below, Young and Dean Adrian Randolph discuss the challenges of household water insecurity around the globe, how we are starting to measure it, and why UNESCO is paying attention to the work at Northwestern.