CURRENT RESEARCHES
Photo credit: https://queensledger.com
Homelessness and Health Equity in New York City- Though homelessness is frequently depicted as a crisis in the media, the lived experience of people that are experiencing homelessness are often overlooked. I conducted qualitative interviews with adults at a transitional housing facility in Queens, NYC to examine the effectiveness of the provided support services in transitional housing. I am also identifying the gaps and proposing services to fill these gaps.
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Photo credit: https://doubleupnys.com
Double Up Food Bucks in New York State, a nutrition incentive programIn this study, I evaluate the impact of the “Double Up” Food Bucks program that aims to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers participating in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in New York State. I conducted in depth interviews with farmers that were working with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) system in NY State to better understand the landscape for SNAP recipients, and CSA farmers in the state to identify new opportunities for Double Up program growth.
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PAST RESEARCHES
Photo credit: ©FAO/Daniel Hayduk
Exploring the Association between Food Security and Natural Resources
The dual challenges of food security and environmental conservation, although critically important, remain underexplored. During my PhD studies at North Carolina State University, I applied geospatial analytics and machine learning approaches to decipher the spatial dynamics intersecting natural resources in the protected areas and food security utilizing data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). The DHS is a nationwide survey with a sample size of approximately 11,000 households in Zimbabwe. My findings revealed that in rural areas, living closer to protected areas was associated with better nutrition in children.
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Key Patterns of Climate Gentrification and its Contribution to Environmental Justice; a Multi-institutional Research Project
Climate gentrification refers to the process by which climate risks (e.g., floods or sea-level rise) can cause or exacerbate gentrification—a general process through which existing residents are displaced due to investments in a community. My work on this topic, investigates the various typologies of climate gentrification on the U.S. East Coast. This large-scale study merged a range of socioeconomic, environmental, and housing indicators to capture the multi-temporal, multi-spatial, and multi-dimensional nature of climate gentrification pathways beyond traditionally placed-based analyses of climate gentrification. In my capacity as the Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) for this multi-institutional research project including investigators from Vanderbilt University, Virginia Tech University, Purdue University, University of Guelph, North Carolina State University, and Colorado State University, I received support for capacity building and computational resources from the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC).
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Photo credit: https://www.fao.org
Agricultural Systems and Their Influence on Food Security
Agricultural systems have a tremendous effect on food access, especially for small-scale farmers in the economically developing countries. To combat global food insecurity, we must prioritize support for farmers. My work in this area focuses on determining the merits and drawbacks of contemporary agricultural strategies like organic farming and genetically modified (GM) crops. In a review paper that I led, we established that organic farming offers substantial benefits, especially for small-scale farmers, mostly by increasing resilience to environmental changes and augmenting income.
Agricultural systems have a tremendous effect on food access, especially for small-scale farmers in the economically developing countries. To combat global food insecurity, we must prioritize support for farmers. My work in this area focuses on determining the merits and drawbacks of contemporary agricultural strategies like organic farming and genetically modified (GM) crops. In a review paper that I led, we established that organic farming offers substantial benefits, especially for small-scale farmers, mostly by increasing resilience to environmental changes and augmenting income.