Student Profile: RobinAmara Heard
RobinAmara Heard is a nutrition major studying the Springfield produce prescription program for their HHMI internship.
Q. Please explain what you are researching and your daily role in the study.
A. I am supporting the Center for Research on Families (CRF) with a Food is Medicine (FIM) initiative funded by the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP). Our project is the Springfield Prescription Produce Collaborative (SPxPC). The primary goal of a produce prescription program is to improve the dietary health, access to nutrition, and well-being of participants. These programs often provide services that encourage individuals who meet specific inclusion criteria, such as those in our study—low-income individuals with either hypertension, diabetes, or obesity—to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption. The Springfield RxPC is a collaborative approach connecting local food systems, healthcare providers, exercise instructors, and nutrition education from dietitians to create a community support system for community health.
Ultimately, the research goal is to evaluate both the implementation and effectiveness of the produce prescription program. We will analyze various metrics, including where and when participants spent produce vouchers, patients' health assessments over time, along with ratings of "health engagement" and mental well-being, to gain insights into how the program influenced the outcomes and where refinements can be made.
The daily tasks I have as a research assistant vary; I have attended nutrition training sessions and joined participants during exercise groups. I am collecting inventory data on the fruits and vegetables available for purchase at each food site serving our participants, and I am working on community nutrition topics that I will present at a community center where our participants attend.
We are nearing the end of this year-long project, so I am helping develop and facilitate endpoint interviews and focus groups with participants, healthcare partners, and produce vendors. We hope these conversations provide valuable insights and guide the development of stronger, more effective Produce Prescription (PRx) models in Springfield and beyond.
Q. What made you interested in this research?
A. I wanted to work on this project because of the holistic approach of the 'Food is Medicine' movement and initiatives like SPxPC take to improve health. FIM acknowledges that interconnected factors, such as transportation, income level, distance to grocery stores, and broader social, economic, and political circumstances, influence individual behaviors. These factors, described within the socioecological model, influence behavior or perceived "choices" and are the core of social determinants of health. Interventions addressing neglected health-related service needs, such as transportation to grocery stores, the affordability of nutritious foods, and culturally relevant knowledge for food preparation, are better positioned to create a meaningful and lasting impact on communities.
I am drawn to the interdisciplinary nature of this work, where experts from various fields bring a range of perspectives in an effort to create comprehensive, evidence-based solutions to real-world needs. The lived experiences of communities inform solutions, fostering trust with doctors, educational providers, and produce vendors to build a sustainable model that can be used in other communities as well.
Q. How have your experiences at UMass prepared you for research?
A. Courses like Intro to Biostatistics for Public Health and Junior Nutrition Writing—where I completed my first literature review—have been essential to my research development. But outside the classroom, I’ve also grown through research lectures and presentations that occur around campus. Professors and faculty members ask questions during the lectures, and that has pushed me to go beyond my current understanding. I’ve found this is the best time to ask questions and connect with researchers. People expect me to be learning, which makes it feel less unnerving to ask questions.
During one talk and presentation by the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, a nutrition professor offered thoughtful feedback to a biologist presenting on a specific technique they were applying to a demographic the nutrition professor specialized in. The biologist admitted he wasn’t aware of the issues she mentioned and wanted to connect afterward. That moment stuck with me. It showed how collaborative and curious good researchers are and how open they are to learning from other disciplines.
These experiences helped me realize that being a researcher isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about asking better questions, staying open, and learning from others. So, in our team meetings I feel comfortable asking questions and sharing my thoughts; because of that, there have been a few times where my ideas have been used or incorporated into the work. It also helped me to see my PI and lead researcher.
Q. What about this internship excites you the most?
A. I’m excited to begin working on the research papers and learning more about how to interpret and tell the story of the quantitative and qualitative data, some of which I helped collect. Recently, my principal investigator reminded me that the data we gather represent real stories and lived experiences of community members and truly belong to them.
We are merely borrowing this data to help bring their stories into academic spaces. This perspective has deepened my appreciation for the warm welcomes I receive in Springfield’s community spaces, where people recognize me as a student likely just passing through. It strengthens my commitment to listen to the stories community members choose to share, rather than relying on assumptions drawn from textbooks or academic papers. Every community is unique and faces distinct challenges that affect overall health and nutrition.
Q. What do you hope to do in the future, either at UMass or after graduating?
A. This fall at UMass, I hope to offer nutrition workshops in the local community, as one of our partners has recently lost funding due to shifts in budget priorities affecting the public health field. The current knowledge I am gaining about community partnerships and cross-sector collaborators will be vital in my future work, where I hope to research and develop methodologies that improve how we educate and deliver institutional food and nutrition in the public sector. I’m currently interested in exploring how to incorporate agricultural and nutritional knowledge in the K-12 public school curriculum. I plan to attend graduate school to become a registered dietitian and earn an MPH or BS in biostatistics, which will help me achieve these goals.
