David Kritchevsky Memorial Lecture – Angela Odoms-Young, PhD

Angela Odoms-Young, PHD

Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Angela Odoms-Young, PhD, is the Nancy Schlegel Meinig Associate Professor of Maternal and Child Nutrition in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. She is a nationally recognized scholar whose work focuses on food systems, community nutrition, and the social and structural factors that influence dietary behaviors and chronic disease risk. Dr. Odoms-Young directs the Nutrition Liberation, Food Sovereignty, and Justice Research Laboratory and provides leadership for large-scale applied nutrition initiatives, including the Food and Nutrition Education in Communities (FNEC) program and the New York State Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP).

Her research uses community-engaged and systems-level approaches to improve dietary quality, reduce food insecurity, and support chronic disease prevention across diverse populations. A central feature of her work is linking research, policy, and practice by incorporating community perspectives, strengthening local capacity, and informing nutrition policy and program implementation.

She has served in numerous national and state advisory roles, including as Vice Chair of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and as a member of the National Academies’ Food and Nutrition Board, as well as committees involved in developing nutrition standards for the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs and the food packages provided through WIC.

Dr. Odoms-Young earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Foods and Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-–Champaign and completed her master’s and doctoral training at Cornell University in human and community nutrition. She also completed postdoctoral and fellowship training focused on family processes and community-based research at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Michigan School of Public Health..