Lisa Powell, Ph.D.

Dr. Lisa M. Powell is a Distinguished Professor and Director in the Division Health Policy and Director of the Policy, Practice and Prevention Research Center in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Powell has extensive experience as an applied micro-economist in the empirical analysis of the effects of public policy on a series of behavioral outcomes. Much of her current research is on assessing the importance of economic and environmental factors (such as food prices, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes; access to food stores, fast-food restaurants, other eating places, and facilities for physical activity; and, television food advertising exposure) on food consumption and physical activity behaviors and as determinants of obesity, including related disparities. Her work has made substantial contributions to the evidence base for policymakers in the areas of SSB taxes and child-directed marketing. Lisa’s research has been funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and she serves on a number of national and international expert advisory committees.