Assistant Professor
University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Dr. Rei Shimizu, LMSW, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage School of Social Work. She holds a Master of Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work and a doctorate from New York University Silver School of Social Work. Rei's research aims to understand how psychosocial determinants of health, such as poverty, mental health, and interpersonal relationship dynamics, influence food-related decision-making and dietary outcomes among low-income young adults. Her research is inspired by the relational food narratives she encountered in her clinical work, providing trauma-informed therapy to those impacted by domestic violence (DV) in the United States and Japan. Her overarching professional goal is to expand the presence of social workers in developing, implementing, and testing community-based nutrition interventions using strategies that highlight resilience rather than deficits to mitigate dietary disparities and resulting health outcomes. She hopes that social work research examining food behaviors through an equity lens can influence social welfare policies to promote universal access to nutritious food. She has also continued her involvement in DV research by examining the efficacy of court-mandated batterer intervention programs with a specific focus on restorative justice, promoting food as a vehicle of dialogue to address relational conflicts.
Disclosure information not submitted.
Friday, November 11, 2022
7:45 AM – 8:15 AM