Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Amanda Palmer, PhD ’11, MHS ’06, studies interventions that may help to improve nutrition and protect the health of infants and children in low- and middle-income countries.
Contact Info
Research Interests
international nutrition; vitamin A; biofortification; supplementation; developmental programming; immune function; child survival
Experiences & Accomplishments
The broad goal of my research is to improve maternal, infant, and child health in low- and middle-income countries. There have been tremendous improvements in child survival over the past quarter of a century. Where we have seen the most marked improvements, deaths are increasingly concentrated during the neonatal period, requiring greater consideration of the maternal/infant dyad. In areas that have failed to meet child survival goals, there is a continued need for new public health strategies, scale-up of evidence-based interventions, implementation research, and adequate monitoring. My research spans this full spectrum—focusing primarily on nutrition as the major underlying cause of child deaths—including: a) mechanistic work regarding the complex interplay between nutrition and immune function, b) evaluating public health interventions, and c) informing public health policies and programs for mothers, infants, and children.
Honors & Awards
2020 Recognition for Excellence in Teaching, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2018 Recognition for Excellence in Teaching, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2011 American Society for Nutrition - Student Prize Finalist
2010 Harry D. Kruse Publication Award in Human Nutrition
2008 Procter and Gamble Doctoral Fellowship
2008 Student Assembly Teaching Assistant Recognition Award
2006 Academic Achievement Award, Program in Human Nutrition
Select Publications
Selected first author publications
Palmer AC, Bedsaul-Fryer JR, Stephensen CB. Interactions of Nutrition and Infection: The Role of Micronutrient Deficiencies in the Immune Response to Pathogens and Implications for Child Health. Annu Rev Nutr. 2024. doi: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-062122-014910.
Pasqualino MM, Shaikh S, McGready J, Islam MT, Ali H, Ahmed T, et al. An Egg Intervention Improves Dietary Intakes but Does Not Fill Intake Gaps for Multiple Micronutrients among Infants in Rural Bangladesh. J Nutr. 2023;153(4):1199-210.
Palmer AC, Jobarteh ML, Chipili M, Greene MD, Oxley A, Lietz G, Mwanza R, Haskell MJ. Biofortified and fortified maize consumption reduces prevalence of low milk retinol, but does not increase vitamin A stores of breastfeeding Zambian infants with adequate reserves: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021 May 8;113(5):1209-1220.
Palmer AC, Schulze KJ, Khatry SK, West KP. Prenatal and childhood exposures are associated with thymulin concentrations in young adolescent children in rural Nepal. J Dev Orig Health Dis 2019:1-9.
Palmer AC, West Jr KP, Dalmiya N, Schultink W. The use and interpretation of serum retinol distributions in evaluating the public health impact of vitamin A programs. Public Health Nutr 2012; 15(7):1201-1215.