Brigitte Pfluger

Brigitte Pfluger is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in nutrition and health sciences at Emory University. She is interested in One Health-focused research exploring how human, environmental, and animal health and nutrition affect child growth and cognition. She holds a B.A. from East Carolina University in international studies and Hispanic studies. After graduating, she moved to Latin America where she worked for 3 years managing rural preschool, primary, and secondary school education programs in Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, and Peru. Upon her return to the United States, she was awarded a full master’s scholarship in Latin American studies with a concentration in development at the University of Florida. Her thesis field research was conducted with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, which took her to rural Cauca, Colombia, where she explored the intersections between collective action and climate change among female coffee farmers. Immediately upon graduating, she joined the Livestock Systems Innovation Lab and acquired full responsibility for the program’s M&E efforts in its six target countries (Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Nepal, Niger, and Rwanda). In this position, she designed evaluation methods and survey and interview tools, and led their implementation in the target countries, as well as data entry, analysis, and reporting. Her past experiences working with schoolchildren and her current nutrition-focused interests led her to join Dr. Ryan’s lab to research the impacts of nutritious foods on child growth and development.