Posted: July 6, 2018

Congratulations to Dr. Ryan Lee, who received his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2017. While conducting his dissertation research, he also was a student member of the EFSNE Consumption Team.

Ryan Lee (third from left) after successfully defending his dissertation.

Ryan Lee (third from left) after successfully defending his dissertation.

Lee was involved with much of the instrument design, data collection, management and analysis for the Consumption Team. This included participating in efforts to explore consumer purchasing characteristics through survey research as well as conducting focus groups to assess perceptions of regional food systems in EFSNE study communities. He is a co-author on two EFSNE manuscripts.

He also used the data from this project for his dissertation titled Exploring Purchasing Characteristics in a Regional Food System, where he used unique approaches to measure purchasing patterns of consumers in the Northeast, their relationship to sociodemographic characteristics and linkages with the regional food system. Dr. Bob Lawrence, founding director of the Center for a Livable Future and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, chaired his dissertation committee.

Lee successfully defended his dissertation in May. Soon thereafter, he joined the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law as a policy analyst, where he provides legal technical assistance rooted in public health research to state agencies, local governments and public health advocacy groups nationwide on access to healthy food and active living initiatives.

Congratulations, Ryan!