Ann Ferris, Ph.D.

Ann Ferris, PhD, RD, the co-director of the University wide, Center for Public Health and Health Policy, joined the Division of Public Health and Population Sciences in the Department of Medicine in July 2007 as Section Head of Health Promotion and Health Policy and Professor of Medicine. For the past 29 years, she served as a Professor of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources retains her appointment in that department as well as in Community Medicine and Health Care. She also started and is director of Doctoral Programs in Public Health. She is presently involved in a number of programs dealing with childhood obesity, including a USDA-funded randomized control study aimed at decreasing sweetened beverage consumption in toddlers, a study of prenatal influences on childhood obesity, a long-term investigation of early childhood iron deficiency anemia, and a study (in collaboration with the Hartford Food System) of consumer response and effectiveness of the Healthy Grocers Program in Hartford. Dr. Ferris brings experience and expertise in developing and directing theoretically grounded, population based, point of service programs.