Pizza & Prof Speaker Lorraine Cordeiro Will Highlight Nontraditional Research Pathways

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Lorraine Cordeiro, associate professor in nutrition, will be hosting this semester’s Pizza & Prof. As the director of the Center for Research on Families at UMass Amherst, Cordeiro’s work dives deep into the relationship between food insecurity, high risk-health behaviors, and nutritional outcomes among adolescents and women in a variety of social and cultural settings. So, who is Lorraine Cordeiro? And why Pizza & Prof?

Why did you decide to host this semester’s Pizza & Prof?

Well, I was asked if I was interested in hosting this year’s event, and it seemed like a great opportunity for me to interact with students! I teach an Honors class every fall and wanted to connect with more Honors students, and I'm also inspired by Dean Castañeda’s leadership of the college, so I thought it would be a good way to connect.

What are you looking forward to during this discussion?

I would like to have an interactive conversation with the students and to discuss multiple avenues for working in academia and conducting research. There are non-traditional pathways as well; people choose to work and then come back for graduate school, or there may be other ways that they continue to learn and do research.

"I would like to have an interactive conversation with the students and to discuss multiple avenues for working in academia and conducting research."

What is your talk going to be about?

I want to talk to students about my career trajectory and research, as well as my broader experiences in the profession. I am, however, much more interested in learning about them; what are their thoughts and perspectives on academia and research right now? What are they planning to do for their futures? How are they going to conduct research and why are they interested in that topic?

Tell us about yourself. How did you get into academia and research?

I attained a BA from Mount Holyoke College, an MPH from Tulane University, and then worked at the state, federal, and local levels. After working at these places and learning more about community concerns, I began a career in research on Social Determinants of Health beginning with a PhD from Tufts University.

My research area is mainly in public health and nutrition with a focus on food security, adolescent and women’s health, refugees/immigrants, and intersectionality of health with different social and cultural contexts.

The Spring 2023 Pizza & Prof is on March 23 (Thursday), from 5 - 6 p.m. at the Honors Hub. The event is open to all at UMass Amherst. Students can RSVP online and refreshments (including pizza, of course) will be provided.