Dr. Matt Lee (24 years) was trying to balance his academic studies of the relationship between diet and national health with performing with a local orchestra.
May 20, 2024 — Matt Lee first started thinking seriously about food policy as an undergraduate volunteer at the student-run Suitcase Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley. There, he helped take unsold food from farmers markets and turn it into free meals for low-income people. Community members. While this research was important for improving the diets and food security of individual clients, Lee, who majored in public health, wanted to learn more about how to address nutrition at a broader population level. I thought about it.
His research ultimately led him to study public health nutrition at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he focused on the cost-effectiveness of nutrition policy, diet quality during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the health of sugar-sweetened beverages. We focused on themes such as the impact on SSB) Sales tax. Lee will graduate this month from Harvard University’s Kenneth C. Griffin School of Arts and Sciences with a doctorate in population health sciences.
problem solver
As a child growing up in the Sacramento, California area, Lee wanted to become a doctor. However, from her experience working in the shadow of a doctor at university, she realized that clinical medicine was not for her. She says, “Problem solving was an aspect of science that I really enjoyed, and I was able to find that in public health research as well.”
In his doctoral dissertation, Lee examined various mechanisms to improve diet, population health, and health equity in the United States. The first of his three papers, which he co-authored based on his research, found that after the enactment of his 2017 SSB tax in Philadelphia: The addition of a 0.015 cent per ounce tax on SSB and artificially sweetened beverages increased beverage advertising in small, independent markets in low-income areas of the region. As a result, some of the effects of taxes on purchasing behavior may have been suppressed. The findings suggest that passing an SSB tax alone is not enough to deter people from buying unhealthy drinks, Lee said. Additional regulations may be required, particularly regarding advertising directed to children.
Lee’s other two papers, which have not yet been published, link adherence to U.S. dietary guidelines to changes in BMI among children in the Growing Up Today Study, one of the school’s larger research cohorts. investigated. They then compared the diets of residents in Chelsea, Massachusetts, who received a $400 monthly payment during the pandemic, with those who did not.
Chelsea’s research delves into an area that is not common in nutrition science: universal basic income, a type of social welfare program in which people are given a fixed, unlimited amount of money from the government on a regular basis. Although these programs are not typically aimed at addressing nutrition or food security, there is evidence to suggest they may have benefits, Lee said. He added: “It would be interesting to see if there are other policies that we don’t normally think of as health programs that impact health.”
Collaboration across disciplines
The opportunity to explore research questions beyond departmental silos was one of the reasons Lee came to the Harvard Chan School. “People here connect with other departments in a very seamless way, so I thought there would be opportunities for collaboration across disciplines,” he says, adding that social sciences, behavioral sciences, biology He said he was able to utilize his statistical expertise. Additionally, through his affiliation with the Kennedy School, he incorporates the tools of policy analysis and economics into his work.
“Matt brings a creative mind, a deep commitment to improving public health and addressing injustice, and an interdisciplinary approach that uses science to solve some of society’s biggest public health challenges. “He has a unique ability to weave a unique approach,” said his advisor and assistant Erica Kenney. Professor of Public Health Nutrition. “Not only has he led some truly innovative research into how policy affects diet quality, cardiometabolic health, and social inequalities, he has also been a truly kind and supportive person to his work. He has taken a proactive approach and has also contributed to teaching and mentoring other students.”
Lee is coming back with a love of teaching and leading from his experience in the school, he said. At Kenney, I observed scientists who care deeply about their mentees and who are thinking about how to train the next generation of researchers. He came to understand that “your identity as a scientist is not just your research, but also what you bring to the table: your experience, your perspective, and the way you see the world.”
For Lee, one of the ways he found balance has long been through music. He is a classical oboe and English horn player and performed with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra while earning his degree. “I often stare at a computer screen, crunching numbers and analyzing data,” he said. “Music trains a completely different part of my brain. It’s a way to feel a little freer and more intuitive.”
After graduation, Lee will return to the Harvard Chan School as a postdoctoral fellow, working with Rita Hamad, assistant professor of social and behavioral sciences, on the link between social policy and cardiometabolic health. After that, she said she would like to continue pursuing a career in nutrition research in academia or another setting.
—Amy Lauder
Photo: Kent Dayton
