Born and raised in Austria, Sarah holds a BSc in Nutritional Science with a minor in sociology from Pepperdine University. Sarah’s undergraduate studies were shaped by her involvement in projects aimed at improving the dietary quality of marginalized population groups facing food and nutrition insecurity. Motivated to understand and help mitigate the impact of socio-structural factors on malnutrition, she pursued an MMSc in Public Health Sciences from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, graduating in 2023. Her thesis evaluated a childhood nutrition intervention delivered in disadvantaged areas of Sweden, providing insights for program scale-up and the efficacy of targeting behavioral factors in the presence of structural barriers. Sarah has worked with large, multi-country datasets and complex quantitative methods to investigate mechanisms of health behavior and identify opportunities to intervene. Additionally, she has participated in global health educational experiences in Denmark and Kenya. She is fascinated by the interaction between health promotion and social/environmental justice in the agriculture-nutrition nexus. Driven by the conviction that systemic change, multi-sectoral collaboration, and decolonization are essential for achieving a world with zero hunger, Sarah is excited to join the 12th Class of Leland Fellows and contribute to these transformative efforts.
Host Organization: IFPRI
First Year Placement
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Sarah served the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) where she contributed to research efforts to improve dietary patterns and nutrition by strengthening food systems in Central Asia through food policy & agricultural development.
Sarah collaborated on many projects and helped produce significant reports, including co-authoring the Central Asia chapter in 2024 Global Food Policy Report: Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Nutrition plus drafting many policy briefs and blog posts sharing primary research.
Sarah helped to design and conducted extensive fieldwork in Khatlon Province (historically the country’s poorest region), gathering qualitative data on gender-based, intrahousehold differences in food consumption behavior among residents in 16 villages.
Sarah introduced photovoice, a participatory action method, where participants take photos to document their lived experiences. Photos were used as a basis for storytelling and data collection.
Publications & Blog Posts
