Global Nutrition Lab
The Global Nutrition Lab co-designs and tests high-impact interventions to prevent nutrition-related illness and death among women, children, adolescents, and underserved communities in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Working in long-term partnership with government and academic institutions, we carry nutrition science across the full path from biological mechanisms to the routine health systems and policies that reach families at scale.
Our team brings together expertise in nutrition, epidemiology, infant and young child feeding, biomarkers of nutritional status, behavior change, and implementation science. We generate evidence that informs WHO guidelines and national health policies for the nutrition and well-being of women, children, and adolescents.
Vision
A healthier, more nourished world where every person, regardless of geography or circumstance, has access to evidence-informed, culturally relevant solutions to improve their nutrition, health, and wellbeing.
Mission
]To conduct groundbreaking, evidence-based research that saves lives, shapes policy, and promotes international, multidisciplinary collaboration on pressing global nutrition challenges. We co-design our research with government, academic, and community partners, bridging the gap between scientific discovery and real-world application so that our work translates into tangible, life-changing outcomes.
Our research
Our extramurally funded research and peer-reviewed publications span two priority areas:
We co-design this work with government and academic partners in Ghana, India, and Zambia, integrating proven nutrition interventions into the routine health systems where children and families are already reached. Through the lab, undergraduate and graduate students gain both rigorous analytical training and hands-on experience in the settings where global health is practiced.
- The nutrition of women, children and adolescents
- The cycle between malnutrition and infection
In the News
The lab’s research and Dr. Locks’s commentary on global nutrition policy have drawn international attention. In March 2025, Le Monde interviewed Dr. Locks on the dismantling of USAID and its consequences for child malnutrition, which she described as criminal. That same month, she argued in Boston University’s The Brink that withdrawing from USAID and the WHO will cost lives and destroy critical infrastructure. Inside Sargent profiled the lab’s growing partnerships in Ghana, including the co-design of the ObaaPa maternal and child nutrition app, in Strengthening Nutrition With Women and Children.