Position Title: Nutrition Education and Behavior Specialist Position: The Nutrition Education & Behavior Specialist requires a PhD in nutrition or related field. The candidate will provide leadership in evidence-based nutrition education, communications, translational and applied research and theory-driven behavior change interventions to prevent obesity and optimize nutrition and health, particularly related to programs that serve young children, youth and their families. Desirable qualifications include experience or training in nutrition education methods, epidemiology, cultural competency, community engagement and experience working with maternal/child populations in community-based settings. This position will be housed in the UC Davis Nutrition Department. Justification: In the state of California, 60% of adults and 33% of children are overweight or obese. Substantial social and economic costs ($41 billion) related to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other nutrition-related chronic health problems continue to be projected for California’s future. These issues affect all Californians, but are particularly evident in ethnically-diverse, low-income, underserved groups. Research shows that these nutrition-related health problems have their origins early in life. Therefore, targets for interventions to promote health and ameliorate health care costs include: 1) Reduce maternal obesity: Interventions that target women of reproductive age to reduce maternal obesity and/or prevent excessive prenatal weight gains can lower risk of type 2 diabetes, childhood obesity, and other nutrition-related health problems. 2) Improve food patterns of children: Food preferences and patterns develop early in life, and thus, nutrition interventions must reach caregivers of infants and young children. 3) Promote nutrition in school-aged children and youth: School-based interventions, especially those that address the school environment, can promote healthy eating, active lifestyles and increase nutrition and agricultural literacy in youth and their families. 4) Equip consumers to make informed decisions regarding foods, nutrition and lifestyle choices. The issues and opportunities for effective interventions are extensive. Greater capacity is needed to comprehensively address these issues across the state and communicate with external stakeholders. The specialist position at UC Davis would complement the Director of the new Nutrition Policy Institute by providing strong expertise in community-based intervention research, and health communications related to nutrition by strengthening the broad UCCE collaborative network. ANR’s investment in this CE position can have a significant impact on improving the health of Californians. Extension: This Specialist will play a leadership role in the design and delivery and evaluation of model extension programs to support the statewide Youth, Families and Communities program within UC’s ANR, with an emphasis on sustained personal behavior and family environmental changes. Efforts will build on traditional extension delivery and new opportunities such as distance education and telehealth. Working within a social ecological framework and with consideration of tenets of behavioral economics, the specialist will engage in applied/creative activities and extend knowledge related to promoting contexts that enable and support families to make healthy food and lifestyle choices for themselves and their children. The constituency includes children, youth and their families throughout California. Research: The Specialist will develop a research program focused on applied community-based interventions and approaches to provide solutions for food-related health challenges that affect the people of California, with emphasis on children and families in high-risk groups such as low-income, ethnically-diverse, and other underserved populations. The position will foster effective collaborations and sustained impact to California’s population through multiple channels and education models. The Specialist will be expected to collaborate with campus and county based academics, industry, schools, and state and county agencies to deliver tested successful nutrition education programs. Key research questions for the Specialist to pursue can include: what are the most effective strategies and model programs for prevention of obesity and chronic diseases related to poor food choices and inactivity; how to equip consumers with the tools to make informed decisions about food choices, nutrition, food safety, and food handling; how can nutrition education incorporate technological advances related to personalized health to provide individuals with evidence-based and understandable feedback on the consequences of their dietary actions. The specialist will publish in peer-reviewed journals and present at scholarly meetings. This research is expected to impact policy that affects nutrition and health of children and families, especially as it relates to USDA food assistance and nutrition programs. ANR Network: The Specialist will benefit from AES scientists in the Nutrition Department who have well-developed research programs related to maternal and child nutrition which will provide productive collaborative opportunities. County nutrition advisors have expressed support for adding a Nutrition Specialist with a community perspective who will bridge campus and county faculty interests, drawing on cross-disciplinary expertise from multiple departments/schools and programs. For example, AES faculty and CE specialists in Department of Human Ecology and the AES Center for Child and Family Studies are engaged in work that links child development to early nutrition behaviors. EFNEP and UC CalFresh programs are expected to be partners and strengthen their nutrition education programs, based on this work. Additional linkages include UC Davis Center for Poverty Research; Chicano(a) Studies; School of Education; UC Health Systems (Medical, Nursing and Public Health Sciences); and the UC Davis non-profit Human Lactation Center which has a strong collaboration with WIC. The Specialist will actively develop collaborative linkages with UC campuses system-wide, such as those that exist between UC Davis Nutrition faculty, UCLA, and the Maternal and Infant Health Center at UCSD. Adding a nutrition education specialist to the UCCE team will allow creation of dynamic approaches to expand UCCE’s reach to address the complex nature of child and family nutrition, obesity and the translation of health-promoting science-based nutrition information for the public. Network External to ANR: Stakeholders in WIC; Head Start; CA Dept of Education; CA Department of Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health ; and CA Dept of Public Health have expressed interest and support for a nutrition specialist with a strong background in nutrition science, a community perspective, and ability to implement evidence-based strategies. Support: The Nutrition Department enthusiastically supports this position and will provide office space in Meyer Hall, administrative support for business activities, IT, cyber safety, Internet and phone access. Other support: The Specialist will be expected to obtain extramural grant funds through USDA, private foundation grants such California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, Robert Wood Johnson, and others. Location: The Specialist will be housed in the UC Davis Nutrition Department. This will facilitate collaborative relationships among the faculty and campus colleagues, and importantly allow the Specialist to be affiliated with the Graduate Group in Nutritional Biology. This provides access to graduate students interested in applied research, nutrition education and innovative strategies for communicating evidence-based based nutrition research findings to the public. Developed and supported by: The Department of Nutrition developed this position description, and it is supported by the ANR Youth, Families and Communities Statewide Program, UC CalFresh, and the Healthy Behaviors for Preventing Childhood Obesity program team, as well as external stakeholders.