Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Susan Gross, PhD '96, MPH, RDN, is a specialist in maternal and child nutrition, breastfeeding, food security, and child nutrition programs, including the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.
Contact Info
Research Interests
Nutrition, maternal and child nutrition; postpartum weight retention; children with special health care needs; eating disorders; school-aged children; breastfeeding; body image; Special Supplementary Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); food insecurity; summer meals
Experiences & Accomplishments
Dr. Susan M. Gross is a specialist in maternal and child nutrition. Dr. Gross received her B.S in Nutrition Sciences and Clinical Dietetics from University of California, Berkeley, California and her Master’s in Public Health from San Diego State University. She earned her Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Maternal and Child Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene. She completed an NIH Post-doctoral fellowship in disability research at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She has been a registered dietitian since 1987 and has been licensed in Maryland since June 2008. Most of Dr. Susan M. Gross’s career has been dedicated to research related to food security and child nutrition programs including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Dr. Gross has been a part of the Evaluation of the Maryland WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program project and currently is evaluating the impact of hospital maternity care policies on breastfeeding practices among Maryland WIC participants. Dr. Gross was also instrumental in the creation of the Maryland “Right to Breastfeed” law in 2003. This law protects a woman’s right to breastfeed in public places. As Co-investigator of the Hopkins Participant Research Innovations Laboratory for Enhancing Customer Services for WIC Participants, a contract with the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (USDA/FNS), she investigated innovative strategies to improve child retention and participation in the WIC program. She also works on research to improve access to WIC on the Navajo Nation and improve coverage for WIC through the MOREWIC! program. Dr. Gross is the Director of the Johns Hopkins WIC Program. Her research focus also includes evaluating ways to improve in-school nutrition programs. Dr. Gross was part of a research effort to assess the impact of the implementation of the Community Eligibility Provision, providing free meals to students in the Baltimore City Public Schools and is pursuing a pilot study to prevent food insecurity among adolescents and young adults in Baltimore. She teaches with Dr. Erin Hager two courses Nutrition and Growth in Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Programs, Policy and Politics in the United States: The Impact on Maternal, Child and Family Health. Her research interests include: Maternal and Child Nutrition (specifically breastfeeding promotion and introduction of solid foods in the WIC program as well as summer meal participation.
Honors & Awards
- Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award by Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute. 2023
- Advancing Health Equity Award by The Maryland Public Health Association.2021
- Hunger Partner Award by the Maryland Food Access and Nutrition Network. Annapolis, MD 2019.
- Awarded Published Research Award for 2018 by the Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic Association, for Gross SM, Augustyn M, Henderson JL, Baig K, Williams CA, Ajao B, Bell-Waddy P, Paige DM. Integrating Obstetrical Care and WIC Nutritional Services to Address Maternal Obesity and Postpartum Weight Retention. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2018 Jun;22(6):794-802.
- Awarded Published Article of Distinction for 2010 by the Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association, for Gross SM, Resnik AK, Cross-Barnet C, Nanda JP, Augustyn M, Paige DM. The differential impact of WIC peer counseling programs on breastfeeding initiation across the state of Maryland. J Hum Lact. 2009 Nov; 25(4):435-43. Awarded June, 2010
- Member, Delta Omega Society, Alpha Chapter, Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Inducted May, 1996
Select Publications
I have listed selected publications from the last 10 years.
Chancay, J., Gross, S. M., Koegel, K., Pompa, C., Eppes, E. V., Kang, Y., Augustyn, M., Castellanos-Brown, K., Paige, D. M., & Caulfield, L. E. (2024). A WIC Agency Drip Marketing Campaign Is Well Received and Improves Program Participation and Retention: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, S2212-2672(24)00723-8. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2024.07.163
Harper, K.*, Lu, S. V.*, Gross, J., Obudulu, C.*, Wilson, M. J., & Gross, S. M. (2022). The Impact of Waivers on Summer Meal Participation in Maryland. The Journal of School Health, 92 (2) 157-166. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13116
Gross, S. M., Lerman, J. L.*, Hurley, K. M., Venkataramani, M., Sharma, R., Ogunwole, S. M., Zhang, A., Bennett, W. L., Bass, E. B., & Caulfield, L. E. (2022). Breastfeeding Outcomes Associated With the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children: A Systematic Review. Academic Pediatrics, S1876-2859(22)00534-4. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2022.10.008
Gross, S. M., Orta-Aleman, D.*, Resnik, A. K., Ducharme-Smith, K.*, Augustyn, M., Silbert-Flagg, J., Rosenblum, N., & Caulfield, L. E. (2022). Baby Friendly Hospital Designation and Breastfeeding Outcomes Among Maryland WIC Participants. Maternal and child health journal, 26(5), 1153–1159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-022-03410-9
Gross, S.M., Kelley, T.L., Augustyn, M., Wilson, M.J., Bassarab, K., and Palmer, A. (2019). Household food security status of families with children attending schools that participate in the community eligibility provision (CEP) and those with children attending schools that are CEP-eligible, but not participating. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. 2019 October; doi: 10.1080/19320248.2019.1679318.