Biography

Brietta M. Oaks, Ph.D., MPH, joined the University of Rhode Island in 2017 as an assistant professor of nutrition. She completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, Davis in international nutrition, working on research projects in Africa (Ghana and Malawi). Dr. Oaks was drawn to nutrition as a way to help disadvantaged populations. She views prenatal nutrition as a low-cost investment and an important component for reducing racial and global disparities in child mortality and other health outcomes.

Before entering the field of nutrition, Dr. Oaks studied sociology and biology in the pacific northwest at The Evergreen State College, where she also trained as a medical assistant. She lived abroad in Thailand for a year, during which she had the opportunity to volunteer with a doctor that visited hill tribes, which was a pivotal moment in raising her awareness about global health and nutrition.

Dr. Oaks returned to the U.S. to study epidemiology, receiving a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to examine the association between folic acid and pancreatic cancer risk. She completed her masters’ at George Washington University and her doctorate in nutritional biology at University of California, Davis. Dr. Oaks has received several awards and was named a finalist in the 2017 American Society for Nutrition Emerging Leaders Competition.

Brietta Oaks Curriculum Vitae