In ASN Science Policy Scholarship offered to advanced graduate students, early professionals, postdoctoral fellows or medical interns, residents, or fellows. The purpose of the Fellowship is to provide a broad understanding of current food policy issues and initiatives. The fellowship will enable recipients to gain a well-rounded perspective on food-related public policy issues and help acquire the skills and tools necessary to become informed advocates for food research and policy.
Erin HudsonHe is one of the two current comrades. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Austin. Read our full interview below.
How did you first get involved in food science and research? What made you interested in food policy?
My interest in nutrition began when I took up endurance sports while living in the Rio Grande Valley, an area with high rates of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and poverty. I noticed that the foods and drinks I used for long trips were the same things that filled many people’s grocery carts. This experience stayed with me and eventually led me to go back to school to better understand the relationship between diet and metabolic health.
When I moved into nutrition research, I became particularly interested in ultra-processed foods and their metabolic risks throughout life. But I quickly learned that generating evidence is only part of the solution. Food choices are shaped by food systems, marketing and the wider food environment, all of which are influenced by politics. That’s what led me to food policy, which feels like a natural combination of my legal and nutritional studies.
Tell us about your current position and the research activities in which you are involved.
I am a PhD candidate in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, and my thesis focuses on how ultra-processed food patterns contribute to cardiometabolic disease. More broadly, my work examines both the mechanisms and determinants of diet-related risk, particularly in mothers and children. My most recent policy-focused research included a baby food audit of grocery stores throughout Austin, Texas, to document the prevalence of ultra-processed products, prepackaged claims, and nutritional quality of baby food in neighborhoods. I am currently preparing that manuscript.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing nutritionists today?
One of the main challenges is translating strong evidence into policies and systems that actually change what people can buy and consume. We can get high-quality research, but if the food environment and commercial pressures remain the same, it’s hard for that evidence to have impact at the population level. We need people who can leverage nutrition science, public health, and policy for effective systems-level change.
Another problem is noise. Nutrition science is politicized, consolidated by industry interests, and under pressure from welfare influencers and self-proclaimed experts. As a result, many people have developed strong beliefs about diets that are based on shaky evidence. Real food science (like any science) has nuances that are often drowned out by industry and influencer messaging.
What influenced your decision to apply for the ASN Science Policy Fellowship Program? How do you see yourself benefiting from this position?
I applied because I intend to build a career that combines research and policy. Over the past year, I’ve moved directly into policy-oriented work, including a child nutrition project designed to inform future regulation, tracking a bill through the Texas Policy Research Collaborative at UTHealth, organizing a policy-oriented symposium at ISBNPA, and providing comments to the FDA’s RFI on ultra-processed foods. ASN’s Science Policy Fellowship felt like the right next step to build on this momentum in a structured way.
As an ASN policy fellow, I will benefit from hands-on learning about how to develop federal food science policy and how to effectively use advocacy. I am also excited about mentoring and the opportunity to build a network of scholars engaged in policy translation.
What aspects of ASN membership have you found most rewarding professionally?
ASN was especially valuable to the professional and visible community. It gave me the opportunity to present my work, connect with current food science, and network with researchers across disciplines and career stages. I have also found ASN useful because it creates avenues outside of traditional academic research studies. Science policy scholarship is a good example of this. It supports scholars who want to engage in policy and public impact, which is a key part of what I see in my career development.
Is there anything else you would like to say to ASN members, especially students?
I tell students that your path doesn’t have to be linear and that it’s never too late to change direction. I had a previous career as a lawyer and decided to go back to school to get a PhD in Nutrition. My legal training provided many transferable skills, including creative problem solving and communicating complex information. The circuitous route to get here strengthened my ability to conduct quality research and led me to effective political work.
