Our People

Meet the Team

Alison Gustafson

Alison Gustafson, PhD, MPH, RDN

Program Director

Dr. Gustafson conducts community based interventions focused on improving food access to underserved rural populations. She also focuses on health disparities related to rural and minority populations using mental health interventions and digital technology. Dr. Gustafson founded the Food as Health Alliance to combine the agricultural, medical, and nutrition focused resources at UK in an effort to improve diet related health outcomes across the Commonwealth.

Lauren Batey

Lauren Batey, MS, RDN

Program Coordinator

Lauren Batey is a registered dietitian with a Master's in Nutrition and Food Systems from the University of Kentucky. Her research is focused on culture and nutrition related chronic disease in Appalachia and other geographically isolated rural communities. Lauren joined the Alliance to make use of her marketing background in the creation of community and professional resources promoting food as health.

Christa Mayfield

Christa Mayfield, MS

Research Coordinator

Christa Mayfield has her Master's of Science in Agriculture, Food, & Environment from Tufts' Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy. Her work has focused on improving food and nutrition security through access to federal food programs and building strong community networks. Christa will support the Alliance's research efforts to test, implement, and examine the effectiveness of multiple food as health interventions across the Commonwealth.

Nancy Cox

Dean Nancy M. Cox, PhD

Dr. Nancy Cox became dean of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment on Jan.1, 2014. The College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is one of UK’s four largest undergraduate colleges, consistently ranks second among UK colleges in external funding, and is home to the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, with offices in all 120 counties. Cox is a strong believer in the land-grant mission and works extensively with the college’s many partners to promote teaching, research and extension programs.

Advisory Board

Mark Evers, MD, FACS

Director, Markey Cancer Center; Physician in Chief of Oncology

Nada Porter, PhD

Chair, Department of Pharmacology & Nutritional Sciences

Nancy Schoenberg, PhD

Associate Vice President for Research, Health Disparities

Simon J. Fisher, MD, PhD

Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Acting Director, Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center

Jennifer Hunter, PhD

Extension Professor & Assistant Director of Family and Consumer Sciences

Krista Jacobsen, PhD

Director of the Sustainable Agriculture and Community Food Systems program

Charles H. Griffith, MD, MSPH, FACP

Dean of the College of Medicine

Tammy Stephenson. PhD, FAND

Department Chair, Dietetics and Human Nutrition

Martha Biddle PhD, APRN, CCNS, FAHA

Associate Professor College of Nursing, Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist

Sara B. Police, PhD

Assistant Professor, Director, Online Graduate Certificate in Applied Nutrition and Culinary Medicine

Margaret O. Murphy, PhD, RD, LD

Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Pediatrics

Kristen Stakelin, MD, MLDE, CDCES

Associate Chief Medical Officer for Specialty Ambulatory Services Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center

Heather M. Bush, PhD

Professor, Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, Co-Director, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Core

Teresa Meyers Waters, PhD

Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy, Associate Dean for Research

Surendranath Suman, PhD

Professor of Meat Science, Department of Animal and Food Sciences

April Richardson Hatcher, PhD

Associate Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience

Rajeev Darolia, PhD

Associate Director of Martin School of Public Policy and Administration, Associate Director of the UK Center for Poverty Research, Associate Dean of the Graduate School