Erin Hager, PhD

Position:
Professor
Institutional affiliation:
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Email:
[email protected]

Dr. Hager is a Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health. She is a nutritional epidemiologist with additional training in physical activity assessment and promotion. She has built an extensive research program over the past 15 years focused on health promotion in schools.  

She has received over 30 grants to conduct evaluation and/or intervention studies with schools from agencies such as the NIH, USDA, CDC, and other local and federal agencies and foundations. One study, the Maryland Wellness Policies and Practices Project (MWPPP) received continuous local and/or federal funding for 8 years, from 2012-2020, ending due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the MWPPP, data was gathered from Maryland schools and districts to support Local Wellness Policy implementation through a continuous quality improvement approach. MWPPP also supported numerous partnerships, which led to subsequent projects, including efforts to develop measures of health promoting school environments and interventions to promote healthy eating and physical activity for students. Her school health work is further exemplified through nearly 50 school health-focused scientific manuscripts. 

In addition to her research, she serves as the co-chair of the CDC NOPREN (Nutrition Obesity Policy Research Evaluation Network) School Wellness Working Group and the chair of the Maryland State School Health Council.