Brooke M. Bell, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Yale School of Public Health
Research Interests
Eating Behaviors | Food Systems | Climate Change and Health | Health and Food Policy | Chronic Disease Prevention
About Me
I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale School of Public Health. I previously graduated with a B.A. in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Health Behavior Research (Preventive Medicine) from the University of Southern California (USC). My doctoral dissertation (link) utilized big data from wearable sensors and digital technologies to understand how social processes and systems affect eating behaviors in children and families.
I am broadly interested in food systems, health and food policy, climate change, sustainability, and environmental justice. My current work examines how food systems and policies can be leveraged and transformed to encourage eating behaviors that both (i) improve chronic disease outcomes and (ii) help mitigate climate change and its subsequent effects on human health. Additionally, I conduct research that investigates the impact of climate change on eating behaviors, food systems, chronic disease risk, and health inequities.
My overarching research goal as a public health scientist and advocate is to contribute to the permanent development of healthy, equitable, and environmentally sustainable food systems for all.
Selected Publications
(See full list here)
Fiscal policies to promote environmentally sustainable food production and consumption: a scoping review protocol (Preprint)
Validity and feasibility of the Monitoring and Modeling Family Eating Dynamics (M2FED) system to automatically detect in-field family eating behavior: observational study (In Press)
Projects
Racism and Health Journal/Book Club
I founded and facilitated the USC Department of Preventive Medicine’s Racism & Health Journal/Book Club from 2020 to 2021. All of my materials and resources are freely available in the linked Google Drive folder.
Network of Diverse Scholars in Social Network Analysis (NODS-SNA)
I am a co-founder of NODS- SNA, an organization that promotes the presence and visibility of under-represented racial and ethnic minorities within the network science and social network analysis fields.
Increase Funding for Fruit and Vegetable Production in Farm Bill Reauthorization
My colleagues and I prepared a position statement on increasing funding for fruit and vegetable production in the 2018 Farm Bill reauthorization, along with an infographic and report card.
COVID-19 Information and Resources
These slides provide resources on how to minimize COVID-19 transmission during protests. Strategies for before, during, and after protests are included.
Advocacy
 Co-organized the East LA Area Community Organizations Showcase with the USC Community Engagement team, March 2020 |  Co-organized the East LA Area Community Organizations Showcase with the USC Community Engagement team, March 2020 |  Co-organized the East LA Area Community Organizations Showcase with the USC Community Engagement team, March 2020 |
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 Attended the Legislative Action Days with the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students in Washington D.C., October 2018 |  Volunteered at the LA Food Policy Council's Party with a Purpose for #ABetterFarmBill, May 2018 |  Volunteered at the LA Food Policy Council's Party with a Purpose for #ABetterFarmBill, May 2018 |
 Volunteered at the grocery distribution for FEAST LA, October 2020 |  Attended the APHA Speak For Health Hill Visits in Washington D.C., July 2019 |  Attended the APHA Speak For Health Hill Visits in Washington D.C., July 2019 |
 Volunteered at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, August 2018 |  Volunteered to pack and distribute groceries at the Boyle Heights YMCA, April 2020 |  Volunteered to pack and distribute groceries at the Boyle Heights YMCA, April 2020 |
 Organized the USC Santa Monica State Beach Clean-Up, July 2019 |  Volunteered as a LA County election worker, November 2020 |  Co-organized the STEM Day of Discovery with the USC Community Engagement team at USC Keck School of Medicine, October 2019 |
 Organized the Sustainability Fair at the USC Health Sciences Campus, November 2018 |  Organized the Sustainability Fair at the USC Health Sciences Campus, November 2018 |  Organized the Voter Registration Drive at Lincoln Heights Farmers Market, October 2018 |
 Organized the Voter Registration Drive at Lincoln Heights Farmers Market, October 2018 |  Co-organized and attended the USC DivestSC Rally, September 2019 |  Volunteered at the 24th Street Elementary School's Community Garden Day in Los Angeles, October 2018 |
 Attended the Los Angeles March for Science, April 2017 |  Established the first Student Food Pantry at USC Health Sciences Campus, November 2018 |  Led the Health Behavior Research Student Association Executive Board, June 2018 |
 Volunteered at LA Food Policy Council's Healthy Neighborhood Market Installation, September 2017 |