An applied population health scientist and community psychologist, Dr. Darcy A. Freedman is nationally recognized for her contributions to community nutrition. She brings a trans-disciplinary background to her research agenda, developing policy and systems-level interventions to promote health equity by addressing the complex interplay between public health and the environment. Since joining Case Western Reserve University in 2013, she has successfully grown a research program focused on the intersection of health equity and community nutrition. Dr. Freedman’s technology, FM Tracks, is now the gold-standard method used nationally to evaluate healthy food incentive programming. She regularly advises and testifies to inform federal, state, and local nutrition policy.
Teaching Information
Courses Taught
Research Information
Research Interests
- Community-level Interventions
- Environmental Health Equity
- Community-engaged Research
- Primary Prevention of Chronic Disease (e.g., Obesity, diabetes, cancer)
- Nutrition and Food Security
Research Goal
- Advance environmental health equity through community-engaged research and action
Professional Memberships
Publications
Education
Additional Information
Contributions to science:
- Food systems and health
- Implementation and dissemination science for health promotion
- Community systems science for environmental health equity
- Participatory research methodologies
Active grants:
- National Institute of Drug Abuse. Optimizing Healing in Ohio Communities: National HEALing Communities Study.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (FINI/GusCRR). Harvesting Health in the Heartland through Statewide Nutrition Incentive Program Expansion.
- National Institutes of Health (NCATS), UL1TR002548-01. Cleveland Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC).
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. Building Capacity for Obesity Prevention (BCOP)
Student and mentee totals, over Case Western Reserve University career/full academic career:
- Master’s: 5/29
- PhD: 9/14
- PostDoc: 6/7
- Current careers of PhD and Postdoctoral scholars:
- Optum Life Sciences HEOR/UnitedHealth Group,Senior Health Economics Researcher
- Center for Health Services and Policy Research, University of South Carolina, Research Associate
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Assistant Professor
- School of Medicine Consultation Center, Yale University, Postdoctoral Fellow
- Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin, Postdoctoral Fellow
- University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children, Data Scientist
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina, Research Scholar
- Georgia Southern University, Associate Professor