Jennifer J. Otten, PhD, MS, RD

Dr. Jennifer Otten is an Associate Professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and faculty researcher with the UW Center for Public Health Nutrition. She also serves as the Associate Director for Research and core faculty in the UW Nutritional Sciences Program and as co-director of Livable City Year. Dr. Otten received her BS in Nutritional Sciences from Texas A&M University, her MS in Nutrition Communications from Tufts University and her PhD in Animal, Nutrition and Food Sciences from the University of Vermont. She also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in the Stanford University School of Medicine. She completed her dietetic internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. Between 1998 and 2006, Dr. Otten served in various capacities for the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, including as a study director and as the organization's first communications director. During this time, Dr. Otten managed and staffed the inaugural years of the Kellogg Health of the Public Fund and served as study director and co-editor for the IOM's report titled Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements.