Jessica Fanzo, PhD, is the Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Ethics and Global Food & Agriculture at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Prior to coming to Johns Hopkins, Jessica was an Assistant Professor of Nutrition in the Institute of Human Nutrition and Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University in New York. She also served as the Senior Advisor of Nutrition Policy at the Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development.
Before joining Columbia University, Jessica was the Evaluation and Monitoring Officer for the REACH Interagency partnership at the UN World Food Programme in Rome Italy. From 2010-11, Jessica was a Senior Scientist at Bioversity International, a Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) center, in Rome Italy, where she led their Nutrition and Biodiversity program. From 2007-2010, she served as the Nutrition Director at the Center for Global Health and Economic Development at the Earth Institute, and the Nutrition Regional Advisor for East and Southern Africa at the Millennium Development Goal Centre at the World Agroforestry Centre in Kenya. Prior to joining the Earth Institute, she was a Program Officer for the Medical Research Program focusing on global health initiatives at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Jessica’s area of expertise focuses on the multi-sectoral and system approaches to ensure better nutrition and diets. Her research is concentrated in three areas: (1) on the linkages between agriculture, water, and health to improve diversity and quality of maternal and young children’s diets in low-income rural communities, (2) the importance of regaining livelihoods in post-conflict regions through better nutrition governance (3) metrics for the emerging area of equitable, sustainable diets and value chains. Dr. Fanzo has worked in sub-Saharan Africa for a decade as well as South and East Asia in the last five years.
She has on-going nutrition development projects and collaborations with World Health Organization, UNICEF, UN World Food Programme, Bioversity International, World Fish and the World Bank. She serves in various advisory capacities including Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) initiative Working Group, True Health Coalition/GliMMER Initiative Council of Directors, Food and Nutrition Security Measurement (FSIM) Technical Working Group, Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL) at the UC Davis World Food Center Scientific Advisory Board, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, member of Thematic Group 7 on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production, The Sackler Institute of the New York Academy of Sciences, Technology and Innovation for Food and Agriculture Working Group, Feeding the World Ethically International working group, Global Food Ethics Project of Johns Hopkins University, ILSI Research Foundation Center for Integrated Modeling of Sustainable Agriculture and Nutrition Security (CIMSANS) working group, and Earth Institute’s Agriculture and Food Center advisor member, and the Community for Zero Hunger advisor. She is an serves as an editor for the Global Food Security and Food Security Journals. Jessica was the first laureate of the Carasso Foundation’s Sustainable Diets Prize in 2012 for her work on sustainable food and diets for long-term human health.
Education
PhD, Nutrition – University of Arizona
Stephen I. Morse Postdoctoral Fellow, Immunology – Columbia University
Recent Publications
Fanzo, J, Graziose, M, Kraemer, K, Gillespie, S, Johnston, J, de Pee, S, Monterrosa, E, Badham, J, Bloem M, Dangour, A, Deckelbaum, R, Dobermann, A, Fracassi, P, Ingram, J, Jerling, J, Jones, C, Jap, S, Kiess, L, Marshall, Q, Martin, K, Narayan, A, Nayamongo, M, Pepping, F, and West, K (2015) Educating and training a workforce for nutrition in a post-2015 world. Advances in Nutrition.
De Fries, R, Fanzo, J, Remans, R, Palm, C Wood, S and Lee Anderman, T (2015) Beyond Calories: Agriculture Needs New Metrics to Nourish People in a Land-Constrained World. Science. Jul 17;349(6245):238-40.
Lachat, C, Nago, E, Vermeylen, H, Fanzo, J, Mahy, L, and Kolsteren, P (2015) A landscape analysis on nutrition-sensitive agriculture policy development in Senegal. Food and Nutrition Bulletin. Jun;36(2):154-66.
Fanzo, J, Marshall Q, Dobermann, D, Wong, J, Merchan, RI, Jaber, MI, Souza, A, Verjee, N and Davis, K (2015) Integration of Nutrition Into Extension and Advisory Services: A Synthesis of Experiences, Lessons, and Recommendations. Food and Nutrition Bulletin. Jun;36(2):120-37.
Luckett, B, DeClerck, F, Fanzo, J, Mundorf, A, and Rose, D (2015) Nutritional Functional Diversity: An Indicator to Link Sustainable Agriculture to Healthy Diets. Public Health Nutrition. Sep;18(13):2479-87.
Haddad, L, Achadi, E, Bendech, MA, Ahuja, A, Bhatia, K, Bhutta, Z, Blossner, M, Borghi, E, Colecraft, E, de Onis, M, Eriksen, K, Fanzo, J, Flores-Ayala, R, Fracassi, P, Kimani-Murage, E, Koukoubou, EN, Krasevec, J, Newby, H, Nugent, R, Oenema, S, Martin-Prevel, Y, Randel, J, Requejo, J, Shyam, T, Udomkesmalee, E, and Reddy, KS (2015) The Global Nutrition Report 2014: Actions and Accountability to Accelerate the World’s Progress on Nutrition. J. Nutr. Apr;145(4):663-71.
Fanzo J (2014) Strengthening the engagement of food and health systems to improve nutrition security: Innovative and equitable solutions to address malnutrition. Global Food Security. (3): 183-192.
Wu, Guoyao, Fanzo, J., Miller, D, Pingali, P, Post, M, Steiner, JL, Thalacker-Mercer, AE (2014) Production and supply of high-quality food protein for human consumption: sustainability, challenges and innovations. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1321 (2014) 1–19.
Reinhardt, K., and Fanzo, J. (2014). Addressing chronic malnutrition through multi-sectoral, sustainable approaches: a review of the causes and consequences. Frontiers in Nutrition, 1, 13.
Johnston, J., Fanzo, J., & Cogill, B. (2014). Understanding Sustainable diets: Past, present and future efforts to advance sustainable diets. In: Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 63: 1063-1063.
Remans, R., Flynn, D., Fanzo, J., Declerck, F., Lambrecht, I., Sullivan, C., Gaynor, K., Siriri, D., Mudiope, J., Mutuo, P., Nkhoma P., and Palm C. (2011) Assessing Nutritional Diversity of Cropping Systems in African Villages. PLoS ONE 6(6):e21235. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021235
Fanzo, J. and Pronyk, P. (2011) Road map to 2015: Reviewing global progress towards the Millennium Development Goal One Hunger Target. UN FNB 32(2): 144-158.
DeClerk, F., Fanzo, JC, Remans, R. and Palm, C.A., and Deckelbaum, R. (2011) Ecological Approaches to Human Nutrition. UN FNB 32(1): 41S-50S.