Zach Conrad

Area of Specialization:

Nutritional epidemiology and food systems

Background:

Dr. Conrad’s research utilizes large datasets and modeling techniques to examine the complex interactions between food choice, diet quality, and environmental sustainability. Specifically, his research focuses on how population-level dietary changes affect health outcomes, natural resource use, and sustainable food production, with an emphasis on low-income and other nutritionally vulnerable populations.

Education and Training:

• Postdoctoral Research Scientist, US Department of Agriculture, 2016-2019
• Postdoctoral Scholar, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 2015-2016 
• PhD, Nutrition and Food Systems, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 2015
• MS, Public Health and Food Systems, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 2010
• MPH, Nutrition, School of Medicine, Tufts University, 2010
• BA, Biology and Anthropology, Human Health and Food Systems, Trent University, 2007

Courses Taught:

• Basic Science of Nutrition (KINE 350)
• Nutrition in Health and Disease (KINE 354)
• Nutrition Across the Lifecycle (KINE 357)
• Population Nutrition, Policy, and Programs (KINE 361)
• Sustainable Food Systems and Diets (KINE 362)

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications:

• Conrad, Zach; Kowalski, Corina*; Dustin, Dakota; Johnson, LuAnn K; McDowell, Acree*; Salesses, Meredith*; Nance, Julie; Belury, Martha A. (2022). Quality of popular diet patterns in the United States: evaluating the effect of substitutions for foods high in added sugar, sodium, saturated fat, and refined grains. Current Developments in Nutrition (in press).
• Conrad, Zach; Cyril, Ashley*; Kowalski, Corina*; Jackson, Erin; Hendrickx, Brittany*; Lan, Jessie Jie; McDowell, Acree*; Salesses, Meredith*; Love, David C; Wiipongwii, Troy; Zhang, Fang Fang; Blackstone, Nicole Tichenor. (2022). Diet sustainability analyses can be improved with updates to the Food Commodity Intake Database. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9:868485.
• Love, David C; Thorne-Lyman, Andrew L; Conrad, Zach; Gephart, Jessica A; Asche, Frank; Godo-Solo, Dakoury; McDowell, Acree*; Nussbaumer, Elizabeth M; Bloem, Martin W. (2022). Affordability influences nutritional quality of seafood consumption among income and race/ethnicity groups in the United States. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (In Press). 

• Belury, Martha; Raatz, Susan; Conrad, Zach. (2022). Modeled substitution of traditional oils with high oleic acid oils decreases essential fatty acid intake in children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 115: 1180-1188.  

• Love, David C; Ashe, Frank; Young, Ruth; Nussbaumer, Elizabeth M.; Anderson, James L.; Botta, Robert; Conrad, Zach; Froehlich, Halley E.; Garlock, Taryn M.; Gephart, Jessica A.; Ropicki, Andrew; Stoll, Joshua S.; Thorne-Lyman, Andrew L. (2022). An overview of retail sales of seafood in the United States, 2017-2019. Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture, 30: 259-270. 

• Conrad, Zach; Stern, Alexandra; Love, David C; Salesses, Meredith*; Cyril, Ashley*; McDowell, Acree*; Blackstone, Nicole Tichenor. (2021). Data integration for diet sustainability analyses. Sustainability, 13: 8082. 

• Conrad, Zach; Reinhardt, Sarah; Boehm, Rebecca; McDowell, Acree*. (2021). Higher diet quality is associated with higher diet costs when eating at home and away from home: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2016. Public Health Nutrition, 24: 5047-5057. 

• Conrad, Zach; Hatfield, Daniel P.; Hennessy, Erin; Maneval, Elizabeth*; Ty, Esther*; Pankey, Christopher. (2021). Evaluating moderation of parent-teen overweight/obesity relationship by household socioeconomic status. Current Developments in Nutrition, 5: nzab030.  

• Conrad, Zach; Blackstone, Nicole Tichenor. (2021). Identifying the links between consumer food waste, nutrition, and environmental sustainability: a narrative review. Nutrition Reviews, 79: 301-314. (Invited review).  

• Conrad, Zach; Reinhardt, Sarah; McDowell, Acree*; Nance, Julie. (2021). Reducing food waste and saving money: a guide for nutritionists. Nutrition Today, 56: 33-38.