Dr. Laura Bellows is an associate professor in the division on nutritional sciences, after spending 20 years at Colorado State University. Her research is focused on the development of eating habits and physical activity patterns in early childhood; interventions in the early care setting; and the influence of parental behaviors and the home environment on the development of these behaviors.  Much of her work is focused on health disparate populations, including those with limited resources, who are Latino, and living in rural communities. Additionally, Dr. Bellows has worked with an interdisciplinary food systems team contributing expertise in diet quality, food security, the food environment and rural communities.

Dr. Bellows has been awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by President Barack Obama, and the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior’s Mid-Career Award.  She serves as an associate editor for the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and co-chair of the research division for the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior.