Jane Dai (she/her) draws from multiple disciplines to understand how food systems—shaped by policy, systems, and environments—structure the environments where communities pursue health and well-being. She strives to approach research with a storytelling lens by applying mixed methods to an expansive definition of “data” that includes numbers, narratives, maps, and media. Her work and practice at the intersection of public health, urban planning, and public policy aims to leverage her role as a researcher to translate data and evaluation into equitable, affirming, and liberative strategies for community flourishing.

Jane’s research has focused on exploring cascading effects of racial capitalism in food systems and population health systems. She is particularly interested in how gentrification—alongside other processes related to uneven community development—influences where, when, and how people access food in urban and suburban contexts. Other longtime interests include commercial determinants of health, food decision-making contexts, and big data for public health nutrition. As a full-time human, Jane also enjoys spending her time outside or doing “analog” activities. You can find her dog-spotting on runs, drinking tea and reading, tinkering with sourdough pastries, puzzling, or convincing the neighborhood cat to accept chin scritches.