Rafael Perez-Escamilla is a professor of public health and director of the Global Health Concentration and of the Office of Public Health Practice at the Yale School of Public Health. His maternal-child health and nutrition research program has led to global improvements in infant and young child feeding outcomes; household food security measurement and policies; food and nutrition programs seeking to curb the childhood obesity and related chronic diseases; and integrated multi-sectoral early childhood nurturing care programs. He has published 240 peer reviewed articles, co-edited 3 books, and is co-editor-in-chief of the prestigious Maternal and Child Nutrition journal. He is a member of the US Academy of Medicine and senior scientific advisor to key UN agencies. He obtained his B.S. in chemical engineering at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, and his master's degree in food science, Ph.D. in nutrition, and a postdoctorate in early childhood development at the University of California at Davis.