Photo courtesy UF/IFAS
Di Fang, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) food and resource economics associate professor, has been named a 2025 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellow. This fellowship places mid-career health and healthcare professionals in a legislative or executive branch office within the federal government to contribute to national health policy in Washington, D.C.
“As a food economist working at the intersection of nutrition, health and disease, this fellowship offers an incredible opportunity to engage directly with the policy process and contribute to evidence-based decision-making,” Fang said.
Fang’s research mission has been to translate theory into practical impacts, especially related to programs that influence food purchasing and health outcomes. She brings her experience in data-driven research to federal health policy discussions, and the real-world policy experience will shape her future research and teaching practices at UF.
Her research spans an array of topics in the food consumer science space, including consumers’ perceptions of nutrition labels.
The fellowship will last from September 2025 to August 2026. Fang will join seven other fellows in an intensive three-and-a-half month health policy orientation and a nine-month placement assignment with a senior advisor to a federally elected or appointed position.
“Health policy is back in the forefront as our country evaluates the appropriate role that the federal and state governments play in our public health and health care system, and decisions made in the next few years will have profound implications for the health of the nation for decades to come,” said Gregg Margolis, director of the RWJF Health Policy Fellows program at the National Academy of Medicine, in a press release.
Former fellows have worked in the offices of the U.S. Surgeon General influencing diabetes nutrition policy, U.S. Senator offices of both parties and U.S. Senate committees on finance and appropriations, among others.
“UF/IFAS has a strong tradition of applying research to address practical challenges in Florida, said Fang. “After the fellowship, I hope to continue contributing to this mission by bringing back policy insights and a deeper understanding of how research can inform decisions in nutrition and public health for Floridians.”