Jennifer J. Otten, PhD, MS, RD
About
Dr. Jennifer Otten is an Associate Professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and faculty researcher with the UW Center for Public Health Nutrition. She also serves as the Associate Director for Research and core faculty in the UW Nutritional Sciences Program and as co-director of Livable City Year. Dr. Otten received her BS in Nutritional Sciences from Texas A&M University, her MS in Nutrition Communications from Tufts University and her PhD in Animal, Nutrition and Food Sciences from the University of Vermont. She also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in the Stanford University School of Medicine. She completed her dietetic internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. Between 1998 and 2006, Dr. Otten served in various capacities for the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, including as a study director and as the organization's first communications director. During this time, Dr. Otten managed and staffed the inaugural years of the Kellogg Health of the Public Fund and served as study director and co-editor for the IOM's report titled Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements.
Education
- Postdoctoral fellowship, Stanford University
- PhD, University of Vermont
- RD, Massachusetts General Hospital
- MS, Tufts University
- BS, Texas A&M University
Affiliations
UW Food Systems team
UW Livable City Year
Committee member, Systems Approach to Reducing Consumer Food Waste for the National Academies
Mentorship
Available to mentor new Master's and Doctoral students in Autumn 2026. Please follow the instructions on the How To Apply page.
DEOHS Students Mentored
Applying Q Methodology to Investigate How U.S. Meat Producers Prioritize Decisions Regarding Environmental Stewardship and Animal Wellbeing
Noah Janzing | MPH | 2023 | View
"Restaurant 2 Garden" - A Community-Based Food Waste Composting Pilot Project
Joycelyn Chui | MPH | 2022 | View
Infection Prevention and Control for Animal Farms
Noah Janzing | MPH | 2023 | View
Exposure Assessment for Early Childhood Education (ECE) Workers
Wai Ting Joycelyn Chui | MPH | 2022 | View
Research
Interests: Understanding, changing and evaluating food systems and food systems policies as they relate to public health and nutrition outcomes. Understanding and improving the ways in which research gets to the public policy table. Using qualitative and quantitative tools, including policy analyses, and policy process and program evaluations.
Publications
Selected publications
- Food systems governance should be preceded by food systems diplomacy
- Insights from Washington State’s COVID-19 Response: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of WIC Remote Services and Expanded Food Options Using the RE-AIM Framework
- Early Care and Education Workers’ Experience and Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- The scope of U.S. state soil health legislation: A mixed-methods policy analysis
- A national strategy to reduce food waste at the consumer level
- The Culture Of Health In Early Care And Education: Workers' Wages, Health, And Job Characteristics.
- The Impact of a City-Level Minimum Wage Policy on Supermarket Food Prices by Food Quality Metrics: A Two-Year Follow Up Study.
- Commercial and anti-hunger sector views on local government strategies for helping to manage food waste
- Sustainable and Equitable Increases in Fruit and Vegetable Productivity and Consumption are Needed to Achieve Global Nutrition Security
Additional Information
Seattle’s minimum wage policy affects child care businesses, some raise tuition or cut jobs, SPH News, 02/11/2019
Food systems, nutrition and health SPH News, 10/16/2018
Army of UW students descends on Bellevue to identify problems KUOW, 10/10/2018
National panel of experts says limit low-calorie sodas, stick to water instead SPH News, 08/13/2018
Washington researcher co-authors American Heart Association advisory on diet soda and health - Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, 08/10/2018
Raising Seattle's Minimum Wage Did Not Increase Supermarket Food Prices- SPH News, 09/25/2017