Miguel Ángel Lopez, PhD, MPH, RDN, LDN

Miguel Ángel López is a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) trained in epidemiology. He received his Bachelor of Science (BS) in Nutritional Science from Texas Christian University (TCU) and completed his Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, where he recently successfully defended his PhD dissertation in the department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences. His research interests surround understudied determinants of nutrition-related outcomes, with a focus on the Latinx community and food (in)security. Prior to moving to New Orleans, Dr. López worked as an RDN in his hometown, Fort Worth, TX and focused on promoting dietary behavior change among Spanish-speaking patients living with nutrition-related diseases, like type II diabetes and hypertension.  Since joining Tulane University, Dr. López' work has narrowed in on advancing knowledge surrounding the United States' observed and perceived food and nutrition environment and the social structures that perpetuate inequities among Latinx people. Recently, Dr. López worked on a project surveying households with minors on formal- and informal- food assistance program use and food (in)security in a low-income district of Lima, Peru. At present, Dr. López is part of a USDA-funded research project building a systematic review on tools used to measure structural violence and its association with nutrition-related outcomes in the United States. He hopes to begin a career soon working on advancing the food security, nutritional health, and promoting health equity of historically marginalized communities.