Degree: MPH Food, Nutrition, and Population Health

Expected graduation date: Class of 2026

What do I do in the lab: As a graduate student researcher, I am the coordinator of the Produce Rx Evaluation Study supporting participant scheduling and data collection. I also support research focused on the impact of WIC participation during pregnancy on gestational weight gain.

Hobbies or activities I enjoy doing in my free time: I enjoy going to concerts, spending time by the ocean with friends/family, and staying active at the gym. In my free time, you can find me checking out local coffee shops wherever I go for the best matcha or iced latte! I also love thrift shopping for sustainable and unique vintage clothes and goods.

Susana Matias is an Assistant Specialist/Assistant Professor in Cooperative Extension Nutrition in the Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology (NST) department and Co-Associate Faculty Director at the Berkeley Food Institute. Dr. Matias has +15 years of experience studying nutrition issues of public health relevance, such as food access, diet quality and their association with health and wellbeing. She uses different epidemiological research designs (e.g. observational, longitudinal, randomized trials) to study these topics on women and children (e.g. WIC population), Latino immigrants (e.g. farmworkers) and other underserved groups. Dr. Matias holds a Ph.D. in Epidemiology, with Emphasis in International and Community Nutrition, from the University of California (UC), Davis. Previously, she completed graduate and undergraduate studies in Psychology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Prior to joining UC Berkeley, Dr. Matias worked as a research scientist at UC Davis and the California Department of Public Health.