Purdue associate professor Heather Eicher-Miller won the 2023 Danone International Prize for Alimentation.
DIPA is a 100,000 euro award set to recognize “cutting edge, innovative and multidisciplinary scientific research in Alimentation,” according to its website. Alimentation is an umbrella term for sustainable eating and drinking practices that contribute to health.
The professor in the Department of Nutrition Science won the award for her research in improving food security, dietary intake and health through integrated science and engineering approaches.
Her research focuses on immediate and chronic adverse dietary and health outcomes associated with food insecurity among diverse populations. According to her research findings, solving food insecurity is possible.
“Nearly 14 million U.S. households face food insecurity where they struggle to consistently access adequate amounts and quality of food,” Eicher-Miller said in a Purdue press release. “Food insecurity is linked to inadequate nutrient intake, poor health and a shortened life span.”
Eicher-Miller studies the 4% of American households that experience “very low” food security, with one or more people in a household not having enough to eat, often relying on food pantries. Eicher-Miller analyzes these household diets, nutritional status and places and policies that affect where and how these households get food, according to the press release.
The DIPA award, which equals more than $100,000, is sponsored by the Danone Institute International Association and the French Medical Research Foundation, la Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale.
The DIPA ceremony and Eicher-Miller’s lecture will be online at 10 a.m. on June 20.
