Dee is a Ph.D student at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina and a graduate research assistant with the Drivers of Food Choice program. She has an MS in Wellness and Human Performance from University of Pittsburgh. Dee’s primary research interest is researching and promoting the benefits of plant-based nutrition to help alleviate chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, etc. Her secondary research interests include technology-based health interventions and physical activity promotion. She has experience studying the impact of lifestyle changes on obesity and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome as well as conducting health promotion programs in rural and urban India particularly among populations with chronic disease. Her goal is to create and deliver technology-based interventions to enable people to prevent, treat, and reverse chronic illness through plant-based nutrition and regular physical activity. 

Emma is an alumna of the Univeristy of South Carolina Exercise Science department where she obtained her Masters of Public Health and Physical Activity. During her undergraduate, she worked as an Assistant Nutritionist for the UofSC football team, where she assisted with analyzing body composition, hydration testing, and organizing and maintaining the nutrition facility. Currently, she helps to manage the Drivers of Food Choice website, as well as social media. 

Samin is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior at the Arnold School of Public Health and works as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Drivers of Food Choice Competitive Grants Program. He has experience in conducting formative research and need assessment of maternal and child health nutrition among the rural and vulnerable populations in Bangladesh. As a Scientific Study Coordinator of the CAPABLE BELIEVE Bauniabadh (Slum) Cohort Study (led by the University of Cambridge and BSMMU), Samin conducted research on assessing the prospective associations of nutritional factors (traditional diet, body fat composition etc.) and environmental factors with the future risk of chronic diseases among the socioeconomically disadvantaged and marginalized slum dwellers in Bangladesh. His research interests are carrying out investigations on food safety and security, food-based solutions for enhanced health and chronic diseases. His goal is to promote food safety and consumer awareness through comprehensive and effective food safety systems for prevention and reversal of chronic diseases in the low- and middle-income countries. He enjoys traveling, sports and cooking at his leisure.

Sejla is an MPH candidate in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior at the Arnold School of Public Health. She works as a graduate research assistant in the Drivers of Food Choice Competitive Grants Program. Sejla has recently traveled to Liberia to lead the training of study staff on data collection methods and program delivery for an integrated intervention aimed at improving child development (led by the University of South Carolina in collaboration with Plan International and Harvard University). She was responsible for monitoring the baseline and end-line data collection and the implementation of the parenting and nutrition program. Sejla’s research interests center around the intersections of food systems, the environment, nutrition, and individual decision-making to develop sustainable efforts and improve child health outcomes.