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Graduate Student
Department of Plant Biology

Emily’s research focuses on the interface between food environments and human health using culturally preferred foods as a vehicle for delivering nutrients to underserved populations.

Emily is involved in the following projects:

  1. Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture grant title, “Improving Nutrition with African Indigenous Vegetables in Kenya and Zambia”
  2. In partnership with AMPATH, KALRO, and the HortInnovation Lab: Food environment factors that influence African indigenous vegetable consumption in Kenya.
  3. In partnership with Mirror of Hope CBO, AMPATH, and Rutgers School of Public Health: Strengthening value chains with sack gardens in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya
  4. In partnership with InterFaith Rise: Promoting regenerative agriculture and food sovereignty with refugee communities in central New Jersey.

evr.merchant@rutgers.edu