Anna Rios

GFI Fellow - Class of 2021

Undergraduate student, molecular and cellular biology
UC Berkeley

DESCRIPTION

2021-22 GFI student fellow

Anna will be assisting with two research projects to improve the health and food security of children. The type of milk optimal for the health of young children has not been clearly established. Our ultimate goal is to examine how milk type affects the health of young children followed from age 1 to 3 years at the time when they are normally weaned from breastmilk or formula to cow’s milk. Anna will be working on a pilot study to test the proposed protocols to inform the larger randomized, control trial. She will also be assisting with a project to develop and evaluate an innovative, student-centered transition from pre-prepared, packaged school meals from an external vendor to fresh, locally-prepared school meals served with less packaging and more reusable serviceware. The long-term goals of this project are twofold: 1) to improve dietary intake among low‐income students; and 2) to enhance the financial viability and environmental sustainability of the school district foodservice operation.