Dr. Ligia Reyes studies food choice in early childhood. She examines food choice for children under 5 years old as a process nested within social networks and food environments. The overall goal of this research is to better understand how dietary behavior becomes socialized during early-life to identify intervention areas that can sustainably promote adequate nutrition, especially among populations with limited resources.

Ligia (pronounced LEE-hee-yah) is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Health Behaviors Lab (PI: Laura Bellows, PhD, MPH, RDN) in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. In this capacity, she leads a pilot study that examines social networks in relation to key health behaviors among an Early Childhood Education audience. She also leads formative research for intervention design of a digital program for parents to improve eating and movement behaviors among preschoolers. She has a strong interest in social networks methodology, especially the bridging of qualitative approaches. A strong value that underlies her work is the translatability of research into meaningful action, and she is a strong advocate of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Ligia earned her PhD from the University of South Carolina, MPH from the University of Michigan, and BA from UCLA. She is bilingual in English and Spanish. 

Want to connect? Email: ligia.reyes@cornell.edu