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Heather Eicher-Miller headshot photo

Pronouns: she/her

Phone: 765-494-6815

Office:

Stone G1D
700 Mitch Daniels Blvd.

Curriculum Vitae Selected Publications Back to Directory

Heather Eicher-Miller

Professor, Department of Nutrition Science

Director, Indiana's Emergency Food Resource Network

Areas of Expertise

  • nutrition epidemiology; food insecurity; food assistance; nutrition education; dietary patterns methods; dietary assessment

HHS Signature Research Area(s)

  • Healthy Lifestyles and Vital Longevity
  • Sustainable Organizations and Thriving Communities

Department of Nutrition Science Research Area(s)

  • Metabolism and Obesity
  • Food, Ingestive Behavior and Population Nutrition

Biography

Dr. Eicher-Miller’s research is focused on food insecurity which affects 12% of U.S. households and creates uncertainty regarding the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods.  Her work has documented immediate and chronic adverse dietary and health outcomes associated with food insecurity among diverse populations.  Her efforts to evaluate and create evidence-based interventions, programs, and policies has reduced food insecurity and improved access to resources which enhance health.  She has also developed novel analytical and methodological techniques, including temporal dietary patterning, to more effectively quantify and evaluate the relationship between food insecurity, diet, and health.

Education

  • Post-Doc, 2012, Purdue University; PhD, 2009, Purdue University; MS, 2006, Purdue University; BA, 1998, Bluffton College

Websites

Current Courses

  • NUTR 315 - Fundamentals of Nutrition
  • NUTR 430 - Public Health Nutrition

Selected Honors/Awards

  • Purdue University, Trailblazer Award - 2022
  • American Society for Nutrition, Nutrition Education and Behavioral Science Research Interest Group Mid-Career Award - 2020
  • Purdue University, College of Health and Human Sciences Early Career Research Achievement Award - 2020
  • American Society for Nutrition, Mead Johnson Award - 2019
  • U.S. Cooperative Extension, Jeanne M. Priester Culture of Health Award - 2019

Selected Grants

  • Principal Investigator, Maximizing the impact of nutrition education to meet the dietary quality and food security needs of children and parents. United States Department of Agriculture. Period: 1/2022-1/2027. Total: $1,000,000
  • Principal Investigator, Eggs in the usual diet and recommended diet as an indicator of micronutrient intake among food secure and insecure adolescents in the U.S. Egg Nutrition Center. Period: 2/2022-1/2024. Total: $114,311.
  • Principal Investigator, Total nutrient intake, dietary nutrient intake, and dietary quality of U.S. seniors using federal and non-federal food assistance. U.S. Department of Agriculture and University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research. Period: 2/2020-12/2022. Total: $50,000
  • Co-Investigator, Food information networks (FINS): Building data-driven supports for increasing access and healthy food choices in low-income neighborhoods. National Science Foundation. Ronald Metoyer (PI). Period: 12/2020-11/2024. Total: $252,000.
  • Co-Investigator, Mobilizing rural communities to improve quality of life among high-need low-resource veterans and their families. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth (PI). Period: 10/2021-11/2023. Total: $20,000.

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