PhD Candidate
Tufts University, Friedman School
Kelly Copeland Cara is a doctoral candidate in the Nutrition Epidemiology and Data Science Division at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston, MA. Her doctoral thesis examines how overall diet quality and plant-food intake throughout the life course relates to cognitive ability over time and cognitive decline in later life using data from a birth cohort with over 75 years of follow-up. Her other research projects utilize systematic review, scoping review, meta-epidemiological and evidence mapping methodologies to investigate the impacts of nutrients, foods, dietary patterns, and dietary assessment technologies on outcomes such as growth and development, gastrointestinal issues, inflammation, diet quality, and risk of major chronic diseases.
Prior to entering the field of nutrition, Kelly’s background was in experimental psychology research focused on motivation, mindfulness, and well-being. She is also trained in health-supportive culinary arts centered around plant-forward dietary patterns including whole food plant-based, Ayurvedic, macrobiotic, and raw/living food diets. Her primary career goal is to contribute research on the role of these and other plant-forward dietary patterns on personal, societal, and planetary health (e.g., physical, cognitive, emotional, social, financial, and environmental impacts).