The field of public health nutrition seeks to understand the complex causes of malnutrition, including both over and under-nutrition, and the consequences of malnutrition on growth, development, communicable and non-communicable disease, and economic productivity through the life course and across generations.
Public health nutrition also concerns itself with the development and evaluation of programs and policies to improve diets and nutritional status. The public health nutrition practitioner requires a solid understanding of the biology of nutrition, the individual, community and socio-political determinants of dietary intakes and nutritional status, and the principles of program and policy design, implementation, and evaluation. As such, the public health nutrition concentration takes a broad perspective with respect to both content and methodological approaches to equip students for careers in public health nutrition. Graduates can use these skills to serve government agencies, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, applied research institutions, and universities in the U.S. and globally.
Applied Practice Experience opportunities and thesis projects are often conducted in conjunction with ongoing faculty research projects and/or with nutrition programs implemented by government agencies, international NGOs, or community-based organizations.
In addition to Rollins core and departmental requirements ( outlined HERE), the core requirements for the Public Health Nutrition concentration include one required course (GH 545 Nutritional Assessment), one selective life course nutrition class (GH 534 Diabetes: A Model for Global Non-communicable Disease Prevention and Control; GH 546 Maternal and Child Nutrition; GH 551 Diet and Chronic Disease; GH 552 Global Elimination of Micronutrient Malnutrition; GH 579 Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Control) and one selective methods class (GH 567 Shaping a Healthy Global Food System through Policy; GH 568 Community Engaged Food Security; EPI 537 Epidemiology of Chronic Disease; EPI 591L Methods in Nutritional Epidemiology) that together total a minimum of 7 credits. Students may also choose to take additional electives based on areas of interest (e.g. maternal and child nutrition, food security, chronic disease prevention, etc.).
Course Required
| Class | Title | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| GH 545 | Nutritional Assessment (Spring) | 3 |
Life Course Nutrition (one course required)
| Class | Title | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| GH 534 | Diabetes: A model for Global non-communicable Disease Prevention and Control (Spring) | 2 |
| GH 546 | Maternal and Child Nutrition (Spring) | 3 |
| GH 551 | Diet and Chronic Disease (Fall) | 2 |
| GH 552 | Global Elimination of Micronutrient Malnutrition (Fall) | 2 |
| GH 579 | Chronic Diseases Prevention and Control (Spring) | 3 |
Research & Program Methods (one course required)
| Class | Title | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| GH 567 | Shaping Healthy Food Systems through Policy (Alt Spring) | 3 |
| GH 568 | Community Engaged Food Security (Alt Spring) | 3 |
| GH 537 | Epidemiology of Chronic Disease (Fall) | 2 |
| EPI 591L | Methods in Nutrition Epidemiology (Fall) | 2 |
Public Health Nutrition Faculty
Read about faculty who teach public health nutrition courses or conduct research in this concentration area by clicking on the names below.
- Yaw Addo
- Mohammed Ali
- Solveig Cunningham
- Ghada Farhat
- Amy Webb Girard
- Unjali Gujral
- Juan Leon
- Felipe Lobelo
- Reynaldo Martorell
- Venkat Narayan
- Helena Pachon
- Shivani Patel
- Usha Ramakrishnan
- Lisa Staimez
- Parmi Suchdev
- Aryeh Stein
- Mary Beth Weber
- Melissa Young
Competencies
Upon completion of the MPH in global health and community health development concentration, the graduate will be able to:
- Describe the magnitude, distribution and trends of nutrition problems in populations
- Assess the nutritional status of individuals using anthropometric, diet and biochemical methods
- Evaluate the causes and consequences of malnutrition
- Evaluate the efficacy or effectiveness of nutrition programs or policies
- Propose innovative approaches to address nutrition problems
Connect with PHN concentration leaders
Amy Webb Girard, PhD
Email: awebb3@emory.edu
Phone:(404) 727 8807
Melissa Young, PhD
Email: melissa.young@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727 1529