Rate My Professor Alison Gernand

Alison D. Gernand is an Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State University in the College of Health and Human Development. She holds a PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health awarded in 2011, an MPH from the University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston awarded in 2003, and an RD credential from the same institution awarded in 2002. Her research centers on micronutrients and pregnancy, with particular emphasis on the placenta, adverse pregnancy outcomes, plasma volume, and public health issues in low- and middle-income countries. She also serves as the Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professor in Global Health and directs the Micronutrient and Pregnancy Lab. Gernand maintains affiliations with the Center for Reproductive Biology and Health and the Center for Women's Health Research at Penn State. In 2025, she was named a Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition. She teaches courses including NUTR 451 Nutrition throughout the Life Cycle, NUTR 456 Community Nutrition, NUTR 511 Maternal and Child Nutrition, and NUTR 583 Nutritional Epidemiology.