We live in a world fraught by political and economic crises giving rise to widescale food insecurity affecting over 700 million people worldwide. Climate change and rapid losses in our planet’s biodiversity have exacerbated the situation. Dr. Iannotti begins this webinar by describing the drivers of global food insecurity and malnutrition, specifically in the first 1,000 days of life. She summarizes the evidence-base around five dimensions of the food environment paradigm—availability, affordability, quality, promotion, and sustainability—to inform practices and policies, and ultimately prevent chronic malnutrition and hidden hunger. The webinar concludes with case studies from Dr. Iannotti’s research projects in Ecuador, Haiti, and Madagascar. 

Dr. Lora Iannotti is a Professor of Public Health at the Brown School and Founding Director of the E3 Nutrition Lab at Washington University in St. Louis. Her lab aims to identify nutrition solutions that embrace principles embodied in the three E’s: equity, environment, and evolution. Dr. Iannotti leads projects in Ecuador, Haiti, and Madagascar where she collaborates with local partners to test innovative approaches to achieving sustainable, healthy dietary patterns that improve young child growth and brain development. Her research related to animal source foods has informed the global discourse on nutrition equity, climate change, and planetary boundaries. Dr. Iannotti is Director of Planetary Health for the newly launched Center for the Environment at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Dr. Iannotti serves on global working groups to inform policy on maternal and child nutrition and global food security. She was a member of the World Health Organization Guidelines Development Group for Complementary Feeding. For the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, she serves as a consultant on initiatives related to animal source foods and human health. Dr. Iannotti serves as the U.S. Agency for International Development Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish’s nutrition advisor, supporting activities with technical contributions on nutrition objectives and methods.

Dr. Iannotti received her Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Master of Arts degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.