Professor Gunther received her PhD from Purdue University in Nutrition Science. Her research program is dedicated to discovering new knowledge surrounding one of today’s most pressing public health nutrition issues – overweight and obesity among underserved children and youth. Specifically, through observational and intervention research, her team is investigating the behavioral and environmental factors, both protective and detrimental, that influence a child’s risk for obesity. Findings generated from her work have direct implications regarding federal, state, and local foods and nutrition policy and programmatic reform.