Dana Olstad
Contact
Adjunct Academic Professor, School of Public Health
Adjunct Academic Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary
Adjunct Academic Professor, School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
Primary Specialization Affiliation: Population/Public Health
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Nutrition policy Social policy Socioeconomic inequities Social determinants of health Dietary patterns Dietary and health equity Food insecurity Population and public health Precision public health Food environments Food marketing to children
About
Dr. Dana Olstad is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. She holds Adjunct academic appointments in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta and in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. She is also a Registered Dietitian. Her primary expertise encompasses public health nutrition.
Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups have poorer dietary patterns than their more advantaged counterparts, and these differences have negative health consequences across the life course. As a population and public health scholar and Registered Dietitian, Dr. Olstad’s research investigates trends in socioeconomic inequities in diet quality and health, the structural drivers of these inequities, and the impact of scalable policy interventions to reduce them. The ultimate purpose of her work is to inform policies, both inside and outside of the health sector, to ensure that all individuals can access nutritious foods in support of their long-term health. Dr. Olstad uses qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods in her research.
Areas of research: Nutrition policy, Social policy, Socioeconomic inequities, Social determinants of health, Dietary patterns, Dietary and health equity, Food insecurity, Population and public health, Precision public health, Food environments, Food marketing to children
Degrees
Doctor of Philosophy (Specializations: Nutrition and Metabolism; Public Health), 2014
Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science and School of Public Health, University of Alberta
Master of Science (Specialization: Nutrition and Metabolism), 2002
Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta
Completion of Accredited Dietetic Internship, 2000
University of Alberta
Bachelor of Science (Nutrition and Food Science with Distinction), 2000
University of Alberta
Selected awards
Early Career Researcher Partnership Prize, 2022
CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes and Canadian Nutrition Society
Emerging Research Leader Award, 2019
O’Brien Institute for Public Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award in Community Health, 2019
Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Early Career Researcher Invited Keynote Presentation, June 2018
Reconceptualizing precision in public health
International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Annual Meeting, Hong Kong
Early Career Researcher Award, 2015
Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society
Publications
Announcements
Supervision
I am currently accepting graduate students.
Scholarly Activities
Research - Does the British Columbia Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program improve the diet quality and food security of parents and children with low incomes? A dose-response, pragmatic randomized controlled trial
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Research - Empowering food insecure Albertans to manage their diabetes through a subsidized healthy food prescription program
Funded by: Alberta Innovates, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Research - Enhancing Equity in Cancer Care: Examining the effects of a subsidized healthy food prescription program among cancer survivors experiencing food insecurity
Funded by: Canadian Cancer Society
Research - How does socioeconomic position become biologically embedded? A cross-national comparison of associations between socioeconomic position and epigenetic aging in middle-aged and older adults in Canada and the US
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Research - Protecting children from unhealthy food and brand marketing in the digital age: A novel artificial intelligence system to assess food and brand marketing on digital media
Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, New Frontiers in Research Fund
Research - The impact of a Basic Income on diet quality and dietary inequities in Canada: An agent-based complex systems simulation model
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research, O'Brien Institute for Public Health
Research - The impact of the COVID global pandemic and government policy responses on dietary and health inequities among individuals from racial/ethnic minority groups: A mixed methods, solution-focused investigation
Funded by: MSI Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research