Mary Story PhD, RD is Professor of Global Health, and Community and Family Medicine at Duke University. From 2014-2024, she was Director of Education and Academic Programs at the Duke Global Health Institute. She came to Duke University in 2014, prior to that she was Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs and Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. She is Director of Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation based at Duke University, that supports research on environmental, systems and policy strategies to promote healthy eating and advance nutrition and health equity among children and families to improve child nutrition, food and nutrition security and prevent child obesity.

Dr. Story’s PhD is in nutrition science and she is a Registered Dietitian (RD) with interests in child and adolescent nutrition, and childhood obesity prevention. Dr. Story has conducted numerous school and community-based nutrition and obesity prevention studies and has been Principal Investigator on several NIH grants. She has over 500 scientific publications in child and adolescent nutrition and obesity. In 2010, she was elected to the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine [NAM]). She was Co-Vice Chair of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM’s) Roundtable on Obesity Solutions from 2013-2019. She served on the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and served a 6-year term on NASEM’s Food and Nutrition Board. She has received numerous national awards for her research, including The Obesity Society, 2019 Friends of Albert (Mickey) Stunkard Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2024 President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition Lifetime Impact Award.

Email: mary.story@duke.edu

Megan Lott serves as Deputy Director for the Healthy Eating Research program and is based at the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University. In this role, Megan manages day-to-day program operations, oversees coordination of scientific and administrative processes related to HER-funded research, engages in policy and advocacy collaborations with key partners, and identifies research priorities to advance program goals.

Prior to coming to Duke, Megan was at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C. While there, she served as a Senior Associate on the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, a collaboration between The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which provides nonpartisan analysis and evidence-based recommendations on federal and state policies that affect the safety and healthfulness of school foods. In this role, Megan supported research, policy, and advocacy efforts aimed at improving the school nutrition environment, including managing the first ever Health Impact Assessment to be conducted on a federal rule making process.

Other prior experience includes serving as the Associate Policy Director for the Community Food Security Coalition and the National Farm to School Network, where Megan managed federal and state policy initiatives, including advocating for passage of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Megan is a Registered Dietitian with a BS in Nutrition Sciences and Dietetics from the University of Cincinnati and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Email: megan.lott@duke.edu

Senthil Ananthan serves as a Research Analyst for Healthy Eating Research and is based at the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University. In this role, Senthil manages the commissioned research portfolio, assists with review processes for HER’s funding opportunities, and coordinates the HER working groups. Prior to coming to Duke, Senthil worked as a Health Equity Fellow for the Food Security Program at Mecklenburg County Public Health. In this role, he contributed to policy, system, and environmental change strategies to improve healthy food access and address COVID-19 and chronic disease health disparities. Senthil has interned for the Food Assistance team at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities where he monitored legislative developments related to nutrition assistance programs and assisted with the creation of research projects. He has also served as a Food Assistance Eligibility Worker responsible for interviewing clients and processing expedited SNAP benefit applications. Senthil holds a Master of Public Health in Health Care Organization and Policy and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Auburn University.

Lauren Dawson serves as Communications and Program Associate for the Healthy Eating Research program and is based in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Her main responsibilities at Healthy Eating Research involve providing communications, technological, and administrative support to the program. Prior to joining Healthy Eating Research, Lauren worked at the Minneapolis Health Department (MHD) with their school-based clinics program through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Associate Program. Lauren holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota, and a Bachelor of Science in Social Policy from Northwestern University.

Email: ledawson@umn.edu

Erin Escobar serves as the Senior Research Manager for the Health Eating Research program and is based at the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University. In this role, she coordinates scientific, administrative, and financial processes, including the grant application process, and provides ongoing technical assistance to grantees. Erin was previously a Research Manager at Duke University’s Innovations in Healthcare, a non-profit, network organization working directly with over 70 social enterprises. She led research in innovative models of care, including the development of evaluation metrics. While at Innovations in Healthcare, she directed a partnership with the Pfizer Foundation’s Global Health Innovation Grants Program, a social impact portfolio funding entrepreneurs working in primary care service delivery, maternal and child health, and healthcare technologies for low resource settings. In previous roles, Erin provided research and administration support for the Director of the Duke Global Health Institute, as well as for multiple initiatives at the UCSF Global Health Group. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Email: erin.escobar@duke.edu

Lindsey Miller serves as Senior Research Analyst for the Healthy Eating Research program and is based at the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University. In this role, Lindsey provides leadership and expertise in the planning and organizing of research activities to support the mission of HER, including serving as the program lead for all commissioned research sub-grants and as a content expert for HER’s special projects. She also assists with review processes for HER’s funding opportunities and coordinates the HER working groups. In previous roles, Lindsey developed evaluation tools and metrics to support a city-wide community collaborative seeking to improve health equity in New Orleans. She also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana, and was Operations Manager for an emergency feeding non-profit in rural western North Carolina. Lindsey holds a Masters of Public Health in Nutrition from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion from Appalachian State University.

Email: lindsey.miller102@duke.edu

Vivien Needham serves as the Program Assistant for the Healthy Eating Research program and is based at the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University. In this role, Vivien provides administrative and operational support to the program. Vivien joined the Duke Global Health Institute in September 2012 as a staff assistant to senior staff and faculty. She brings a wealth of administrative support experience in education, real estate, and non-profit industries. She is a native of Cape Town, South Africa and has lived in the U.S. since 2001. Vivien has a passion for community outreach and regularly prepares and distributes food and clothing to the homeless and destitute in Durham and surrounding areas.

Email: vivien.needham@duke.edu