Rafael Pèrez- Escamilla

Rafael Pèrez- Escamilla is Professor of Nutritional Sciences and Director of the Center for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos (CEHDL). He received his Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Pérez-Escamilla is currently leading or co-leading four nutrition capacity building and translational research programs in Connecticut, Ghana, and Brazil in the fields of nutrition-related health disparities, breastfeeding, HIV, and household food security. He has been a senior scientific advisor to nutrition projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), UNICEF, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the governments of Mexico and Brazil. Dr. Pérez-Escamilla has been the principal mentor of over 30 nutritional sciences and MPH graduate students from all over the world and has published 70 peer-reviewed research articles and over 200 conference abstracts, book chapters, and technical reports. He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Nutrition, the Journal of Human Lactation, and the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition.

Selected Publications

Himmelgreen DA, Pèrez- Escamilla R, Martinez D, Bretnall A, Eells B, Peng Y, Bermúdez A. The longer you stay, the bigger you get: length of time and language use in the U.S. are associated with obesity in Puerto Rican women. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2004 Sep;125(1):90-6.

Pèrez- Escamilla R, Segall-Correa AM, Kurdian Maranha L, Sampaio Md Mde F, Marin-Leon L, Panigassi G. An adapted version of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Insecurity module is a valid tool for assessing household food insecurity in Campinas, Brazil. J Nutr. 2004;134:1923-8.

Aidam B, Pérez-Escamilla R, Lartey A. Lactation counseling has an impact on exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana. J Nutr 2005;135:1691-1695.

Anderson, AK, Damio G, Young S, Chapman DJ, Pèrez- Escamilla R. A Randomized Trial Assessing the Efficacy of Peer Counseling on Exclusive Breastfeeding in a Predominantly Latina Low-income Community. Arch Ped Adol Med 2005;159:836-41.