Learn More About My
Research
Interdisciplinary research that bridges the fields of early childhood nutrition, human development, family studies, and public health.
Teaching
Teaching in the fields of obesity prevention and treatment, research methods, and early childhood nutrition and development.
Science Communication
Communication of research findings to families, clinicians, and policymakers to promote evidence-based practice and decision-making. Learn more within my Scientific Publications and Developing Appetites blog.
About Me
Alison Ventura
is a Professor of Kinesiology and Public Health at the California Polytechnic State University and author of Promoting Responsive Feeding during Breastfeeding, Bottle-feeding, and the Introduction to Solid Foods. She earned a B.S. in Psychology with an emphasis in Biology and a minor in Community Nutrition from the University of California, Davis, a M.S. in Nutritional Sciences and a M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Ventura also trained as a NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellow at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, a taste and smell research institute in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Ventura’s expertise and research focuses on how family interactions shape dietary preferences, eating behaviors, and growth trajectories during infancy and early childhood. For the past 13 years, she has had many opportunities to put “theory to practice” with her own two sons, aged 11 and 13 years.