April 2 seminar to focus on translational research and food insecurity
Published March 19, 2025
Evidence generated through health services research studies testing the structural interventions to address food insecurity and improve chronic disease outcomes, will be the focus of the April 2 University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Distinguished Speaker Seminar featuring UB’s Rebekah J. Walker, PhD, Associate Professor and Chief of Division of Population Health, Department of Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Register now for “Structural Determinants of Food Insecurity: Mechanisms, Pathways, and Policy Interventions,” which will be held at 12 p.m. in room 2220A at the Jacobs School.
Food insecurity is known to influence chronic disease outcomes, including prevalence, complications, and mortality due to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Evolving evidence highlights the importance of upstream structural factors, however, mechanisms, pathways, and interventions to mitigate the relationship are yet unclear.
Research from UB's Division of Population Health has focused on integrating social and medical care and generating evidence to change health policy. At the April 2 CTSI seminar, in addition to the critical importance of the issue of food insecurity, Walker stresses two points she hopes will come across to audience members as she overviews the history of her research team’s work: “[Th]e importance of having a strong multidisciplinary team working with you, and the importance of identifying the big problems that people are facing and using research to help address those problems. Team science and the value of research are two topics that happen to be on people’s radar right now and I hope that my seminar can offer some examples of how team science is conducted and how research can be designed to bring real value to communities.”
Walker joined UB in 2024 and has already made a sizable impact, says CTSI Director Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research.
“Dr. Walker’s work aligns closely with the priorities of the CTSI in focusing on reducing health disparities in our community,” Murphy explains. “She and her team have established excellent community partnerships and valuable collaborations in only a short period of time since coming to UB. I encourage people to attend what is sure to be an outstanding Distinguished Speaker Seminar.”
One key element of CTSI Distinguished Speaker Seminars is connecting the presenter with faculty. CTSI Workforce Development Core Director Ekaterina Noyes, PhD, MPH, Associate Dean for Translational and Team Science, Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, says Walker is known for her work as a mentor.
“Dr. Walker and her team are not only prolific researchers but are also generous and experienced research mentors,” Noyes says. “Their Division of Population Health offers numerous research training opportunities to junior faculty, fellows and residents in the Department of Medicine and other collaborators.”
CTSI Workforce Development Core Assistant Director David M. Jacobs, PharmD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, adds that Walker's "innovative research addresses the critical impact of social determinants on health outcomes, offering meaningful insights into combating health disparities.”
When discussing her work, Walker commented on some similarities between Milwaukee — the site of some of her past research on food insecurity — and Buffalo.
“Both Milwaukee and Buffalo have historical underinvestment in inner-city communities, significant present-day impacts of historically discriminatory practices like redlining, and present day impacts of deindustrialization and economic decline linked to a shrinking industrial sector,” Walker explains. “The overall prevalence of food insecurity is estimated by the New York State Department of Health to be 25% in Buffalo and the surrounding counties, which is quite a bit higher than the national average of 14%. This burden necessitates solutions that meet the needs of individuals and families now, while simultaneously investigating regional, state, and federal policies that can change burden in the future that leads to our dual focus in research.”
Walker says she and her team focus on the conduct of research studies that can inform policy change to address the social factors that impact individuals’ ability to obtain the highest level of health. “In terms of food insecurity, this means testing interventions that seek to improve health outcomes by integrating social and medical care, while also identifying the social and public policies that perpetuate the poverty that leads to food insecurity.”
CTSI Distinguished Speaker Seminars are supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number UM1TR005296 to the University at Buffalo. For questions about the series, contact cmp9@buffalo.edu or 716-844-9282.