Faculty

Research Interests

Dr. Jones-Smith is an obesity epidemiologist who studies social, environmental and economic causes and correlates of obesity risk. Specifically, her research focuses on investigating distal drivers of nutrition-related health inequities and follows three main lines: 1) investigating community and individual economic resources as causal factors in obesity-related health status; 2) evaluating the obesity-related impacts of health and non-health related policies; and 3) documenting disparities in nutrition-related diseases based on socioeconomic factors and race/ethnicity, across the lifespan and in numerous populations. Her current approach combines public health nutrition and epidemiologic methods with econometric techniques to study these topics.

Education

PhD Nutritional Epidemiology, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), 2010

MPH Public Health Nutrition, University of California (Berkeley), 2007

BS Food and Nutrition Science, Loyola University (Chicago), 1999

In the News

Analysis: Free school meals for all may reduce childhood obesity, while easing financial and logistical burdens for families and schools
The Conversation, 03/18/2024

Seattle's soda tax has led to increases in beer and candy sales
KUOW, 02/03/2022

New Evidence Suggests That Seattle’s Soda Tax Is Working — and It’s Working Well
The Patch, 01/11/2022

More Seattleites are using food banks, but funding isn't keeping up
KUOW, 03/01/2019

Lopsided I-1634 campaign, with millions from soda industry, blankets airwaves
The Seattle Times, 10/13/2018

Report: Seattle residents support soda tax
ASPPH, 08/16/2018

Seattle soda tax brings in more than $10M in first six months
The Seattle Times, 08/08/2018

Another fallout from the Great Recession: Fewer people took their blood pressure and diabetes medications
STAT, 03/13/2018

Soda tax goes into effect Jan. 1
Q13 TV, 01/03/2018

Seattle's soda tax: financial incentive for your New Year's resolution
KUOW, 01/03/2018