Dr. Daphne Hernandez is an Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Obesity Studies, and Health Disparities at the University of Houston. She has extensive experience studying gender and race/ethnic health disparities resulting from poverty-related issues, including food insecurity and obesity across the life span. She is currently evaluating the impact of “Food Scholarships” on community college students’ academic performance with her colleague, Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab (Temple University). This work is being supported by the William T. Grant Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. Her work is also currently funded by the National Cancer Institute, USDA, and previously by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her work has also been nationally recognized by the media (Time magazine) and professional organizations, including the National Council on Family Relations. Due to her significant contributions in the areas of health disparities research and mentoring women and first generation college students, the University of Houston’s Women and Gender Resource Center awarded her the “2016 Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award”. Dr. Hernandez received her bachelors in psychology from Princeton University where she was a Division I diver. She then went on to earn her Masters of Science in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also served as the diving coach for the women’s and men’s teams. Her doctorate in developmental psychology was awarded from Boston College. She received postdoctoral training in public policy and poverty from the University of Michigan.