Megan Lott serves as Deputy Director for Healthy Eating Research, which supports research on environmental and policy strategies to promote healthy eating among children to prevent childhood obesity. In this role, Megan provides administrative leadership to the program and oversees the program’s operating structure, including day-to-day interactions with program funders and a nationwide network of grantees. Megan is a member of the program leadership team that develops and implements the program’s strategic plan and is also engaged in policy and research collaborations with key partners, including federal government agencies and NGOs, to identify research priorities and advance HER program goals. She is based at the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University.

Prior to coming to Duke, Megan spent 8 years in Washington, D.C. working on federal nutrition policy and research at the Pew Charitable Trusts and the National Farm to School Network. In these roles, Megan supported research, policy, and advocacy efforts aimed at improving the school nutrition environment and community food systems. Megan is a Registered Dietitian with a B.S. in nutrition Sciences and dietetics from the University of Cincinnati and a Master's in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.