Kendra Byrd, PhD, MSc

I am an academic researcher with 10+ years of experience in dietary assessment, nutrition-sensitive agricultural programing, and impact evaluations in low- and middle-income countries. My primary research contributions are on the effectiveness of nutrition interventions in eliminating or reducing nutrient deficiencies (hidden hunger) during the complementary feeding period (ages 6-24 months) using ready-to-use supplementary foods or using animal-source foods. I have published on these topics in journals such as Nature Medicine, The Journal of Nutrition, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and Global Food Security. Recently, I have engaged a food systems framework to identify the associations between aquaculture, fisheries, and dietary diversity for women, infants, and young children. My findings that inland (freshwater) fisheries are important for the diets of young children have informed United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that are cited in global policy documents. I have over seven years of experience living and working in developing countries (Uganda, Kenya, Bangladesh, and Malaysia), providing me with a familiarity of the contexts within which my research and programming is conducted.