Health: Karen Hock (School of Public Health Sciences)

For the Winter and Spring 2024 semesters, Karen Hock will be travelling to Australia to work with leaders in the field of public health nutrition at Deakin University, under the supervision of Dr. Gary Sacks. Karen will not only be collaborating with the top researchers of several public health organizations, but be expanding her knowledge in the field via new research and analysis methods (i.e. qualitative studies). Additionally, she will have the opportunity to conduct policy analyses for renowned organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, which will enable her to intersperse current projects on the Canadian food supply with knowledge and skills gleaned from her international experience. Concurrently, Karen will be working on her thesis project at Deakin University. Her research examines the sugar content of drinks in six countries around the world and how it is associated with nutrition policies like sugary drink taxes and front-of-package nutrition labels. Karen is excited to make the most of her international research experience and will be working closely with Dr. Sacks and Dr. David Hammond, her PhD supervisor, to keep track of her thesis work and other projects.