Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, PhD
Biography
Research & Publications
News
Locations
Appointments
Biography
Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, Ph.D., is Professor of Public Health, and Director of the Office of Public Health Practice, the Global Health Concentration, and the Maternal Child Health Promotion track at the Yale School of Public Health. He is the PI of the Yale-Griffin CDC Prevention Research Center (PRC). His global public health nutrition and food security research program, supported with over $70 million in extramural funds, has contributed to improvements in breastfeeding and other maternal, infant and young child nutrition outcomes, iron deficiency anemia among infants, household food security, and early childhood development. He has co-led innovative mixed-methods implementation studies assessing the impact of community health worker person centered interventions on breastfeeding, type-2 diabetes, post-partum hypertension and mental health outcomes among in vulnerable communities, including people of color in the U.S. He has published over 340 research articles, 3 books/monographs, and numerous journal supplements, book chapters, and technical reports. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine (elected in 2019) and served in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Food and Nutrition Board from 2012-18. He has been a senior advisor to maternal-child community nutrition programs as well as household food security measurement projects funded by the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, UNICEF, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the U.S. Agency for International Development, The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH),The World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Governments across world regions. He obtained his BS in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and his MS in Food Science and his PhD in Nutrition from the University of California at Davis. His postdoctoral training at UC Davis focused on the link between nutrition and early childhood development.
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral fellowUC Davis (1994)
- PhDUniversity of California at Davis (1991)
- MSUniversity of California at Davis (1985)
- BSUniversidad Iberoamericana, Chemical Engineering (1982)
Activities
- Breastfeeding Friendly Country Index (BFCI) projectAccra, Greater Accra, Ghana; Mexico City, D.F., Mexico 2015Breastfeeding Friendly Country Index (BFCI) project
- Evaluation of UNICEF's Infant & Young Child Counseling PackageKaduna, Kaduna, Nigeria 2014Evaluation of UNICEF's Infant & Young Child Counseling Package
- Harmonization of household food security measurements in Latin America and Caribbean RegionBrazil; Mexico (2007-2010)Senior leadership for Latin American & Caribbean household food security measurement (project ELCSA)
- Nutrition, food security and human rightsRwanda (2004-2010)Keynote speaker for annual human rights youth leadership intergenerational forums
- Brazilian household food security measurement projectBrazil (2003-2010)Senior advisor to Brazilian government national household food security measurement project (EBIA initiative)
Honors & Recognition
Award | Awarding Organization | Date |
---|---|---|
Lifetime Achievements Award in Global Nutrition | American Society for Nutrition | 2020 |
Member of the National Academy of Medicine | U.S. National Academy of Medicine | 2019 |
Doctor Honoris Causa | Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico | 2016 |
Patricia Martens Award for Excellence in Breastfeeding Research | International Lactation Consultants Association (ILCA) | 2015 |
2010 & 2015 Dietary Guidelines Scientific Advisory Committee | Appointed by US Secretaries of Agriculture and Health | 2008 |
Professional Service
Organization | Role | Date |
---|---|---|
Women's Health Initiative Scientific Advisory Council (SAC), American Diabetes Association | Council Member | 2023 - 2025 |
Newman's Own Foundation, Newman's Own Foundation | Board of Directors | 2022 - 2025 |
The 2023 Lancet Series on Breastfeeding, The Lancet | Member of the steering committee and co-author | 2020 - 2023 |
Healthy Eating Research national Advisory Council, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Member of the National Advisory Committee (NAC) | 2018 - 2025 |
Current Developments in Nutrition (Elsevier) | Deputy Editor | 2017 - 2027 |
Maternal and Child Nutrition journal (Wiley) | (co)editor-in-Chief with Victoria Hall Moran | 2016 - 2026 |
International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) | President | 2014 - 2016 |
Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), Institute of Medicine (IOM) | Board Member | 2013 - 2018 |
The 2016 Lancet Series on Early Childhood Development, The Lancet | Member of the Steering Committee and co-author | 2013 - 2016 |
2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (DHHS) | Committee Member | 2013 - 2015 |
American Society for Nutrition Minority Affairs Committee | Minority Affairs Committee | 2010 - 2011 |
SustiNet | Health Disparities & Equity Advisory Committee | 2010 |
American Society for Nutrition Global Nutrition Council | Past-President | 2010 - 2012 |
USDA & DHHS | 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee | 2008 - 2010 |
2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (DHHS) | Committee Member | 2008 - 2010 |
peer reviewed journals | Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica; Am J Clin Nutr; American Journal Obstetrics & Gynecology; American Journal of Public Health, Am J Prev Med; Am J Tropical Med & Hygiene; Annals of Epidemiology; British Journal Nutrition; BMC Public Health; BMC Women’s Health; Bull World Health Organization; Ethnicity & Disease; Current Dev Nutr; Diabetes Research & Clinical Practice; Eur J Clin Nutr; Evaluation & Program Planning; Food & Nutrition Bulletin, Food & Foodways; Health Education & Behavior; Health Policy & Planning; Human Organization; International Breastfeeding Journal, International Journal of Obesity; JAMA Pediatrics; J Am Diet Assoc; J Amer Med Women Assoc; Journal Applied Research on Children; Journal Behavioral Medicine; Journal Developmental Psychobiology; J Environmental Public Health; J Epi Community Health; J of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved; J Health Population and Nutrition; J Human Lactation; J Imm Minority Health; J Nutr; J Nutr Education and Behavior; J Nutrition Health & Aging; J Pediatrics; J Pediatric Gastroenterology Nutrition; J Rural Studies; Lancet; Maternal Child Health Journal; Maternal & Child Nutrition; Mexican J Public Health; Mexican Studies; Nature Reviews: Cardiology; Nutrients; Nutrition Reviews; Panamerican J Public Health; Pediatrics; Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal; Perspectives in Public Health (Royal Society for Public Health); PLOS Medicine; PLOS One; Psychological Review; Public Health Nutrition; Soc Sci Med; Salud Pública de México; Studies in Family Planning | 1990 - 2023 |
Departments & Organizations
- Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly
- Center for Methods in Implementation and Prevention Science (CMIPS)
- Climate Change and Health
- Global Health Studies
- Maternal and Child Health Promotion (MCHP) Program
- Obesity Research Working Group
- Office of Public Health Practice (OPHP)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Yale Institute for Global Health
- Yale School of Public Health
- Yale Ventures
- YSPH Global Health Concentration