Erin Hennessy, PhD, MPH

Erin Hennessy is Director of ChildObesity180 and Assistant Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Dr. Hennessy has focused her career on helping all children eat better, move more and achieve a healthy weight with a particular emphasis on helping those most in need. Her work addresses modifiable risk factors across levels of influence including the individual, interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy.
Dr. Hennessy currently leads an active research portfolio including an $8.5 million award to test and evaluate the use of telehealth innovations in delivery of USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and, co-leads a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with the New York Road Runners organization, to create and implement a multilevel intervention to support children’s physical literacy at school and home. She is also the PI of several pilot studies focused on nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention in early childhood.