MEET THE TEAM

Kyra received her PhD in Nutrition and Food Systems from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She is primarily interested in understanding the reciprocity of the environmental, health, and social pillars of sustainability, specifically as it pertains to dietary patterns. Through her doctoral research, she explored health, environmental, and cultural impacts of a produce prescription program. While at Friedman, she worked on the LASTING project where she contributed to the quantification of forced labor risk within the food system as well as impacts of dietary shifts across all four pillars (environment, health, social, and economic) of sustainability. She completed her MS at Friedman in Agriculture, Food and Environment and received her undergraduate degrees from the University of Rochester in Environmental Studies and Psychology. She previously worked at the USDA-ARS at the Plant Genetic Resource Unit and studied the nutrition quality of the diverse tart cherry collection.

Francesca is a sophomore majoring in Biology and minoring in Data Science on the pre-medical track. She has gained clinical experience in both U.S. and international settings through medical brigades in Honduras and Panama. She serves as the president of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative chapter at William & Mary and is the co-founder and CEO of EyeGive, a nonprofit focused on expanding access to vision care.

Emily is a senior majoring in Neuroscience. She has an interest in research that connects our complex health and social systems directly to health outcomes. On campus, she is involved in Alzheimer's Buddies, as well as serving as a Service Saturday Team leader, WCWM's Station Manager, and a Student Career Advisor. After graduating, Emily will pursue graduate work on a clinical pre-health path.

Zachary received his PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Michigan and his MPH from Boston University. He is broadly interested in understanding the role of food diversity in shaping dietary patterns, consumer food demand, and nutritional status. Zachary also conducts research on developing data collection tools for emerging nutrition topics, such as fermented foods and nutrition on social media, as well as best practices for public health nutrition teaching and learning. Prior to joining the NEFSA Lab at W&M, he received postdoctoral research training at the University of California, Davis and the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and he served as a Research Scientist in the California Department of Health Care Access and Information.

Tara is a junior at William & Mary, majoring in Economics and minoring in Public Health. She has been involved in the NEFSA Lab since her freshman year and has presented research at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual conferences in 2025 and 2026. Her research interests focus on the impacts of pulse intake on cardiometabolic health and environmental sustainability. Beyond research, Tara volunteers at the W&M Greenhouse and serves as Research Lead for the Public Policy Club.

Debritu earned her PhD in Public Health with a specialization in Nutrition from the University of Bergen, Norway. Her research focuses on global health, nutritional epidemiology, and food systems, with experience in experimental study design, secondary data analysis, dietary assessment, and developing and evaluating nutrition interventions, including work on micronutrient fortification studies. She is committed to fostering learning and providing mentorship. Her goal is to conduct collaborative, policy-relevant research that tackles complex global nutrition challenges and drives meaningful impact.

Yamima earned her PhD in One Health Sciences with a specialization in Epidemiology from Texas Tech University. Her research spans epidemiology, One Health, antimicrobial resistance, and population health, with experience in large-scale epidemiological studies, secondary data analysis, microbiome and genomic research, and quantitative modeling. She is interested in integrating population-level data and computational approaches to better understand the connections between human health, dietary patterns, and environmental sustainability. Her goal is to conduct interdisciplinary, evidence-based research that informs healthier and more sustainable food systems.

Saphir earned her Master of Public Health in Global Epidemiology from Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, building on a Bachelor of Science in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of California. Her background spans program coordination, federal grant administration, and applied research, including survey design, data analysis, and cross-institutional coordination on research initiatives. Most recently, she managed operations and federal compliance for a CDC-funded national health equity initiative. She is committed to building the operational systems that let research thrive, bringing structure, clarity, and follow-through to the teams she supports.