ANA DEACONU
As a postdoctoral researcher, Ana uses participatory action research methods to examine how healthy food systems emerge and evolve among otherwise vulnerable populations. Her main research activities are among Indigenous farming communities in Ecuador who practice agroecology, a sustainable farming paradigm. Specifically, she is evaluating pathways that connect agricultural livelihoods to nutrition outcomes, with the aim of understanding how social and behavioural elements embedded in these pathways can support better health. This project expands on mixed method research she conducted as a PhD student in Nutrition and on her background working around agroecology in Ecuador. Ana finds joy in research that responds to community needs and has pragmatic outcomes for people's wellbeing, and is comfortable with both quantitative and qualitative methods. Prior to arriving in Montreal, Ana completed a B.S. and M.S. in Earth Systems at Stanford University, then worked on projects related to health and sustainable food in Peru, Belize, Guatemala and Ecuador. She lived in Ecuador for five years, with part of her time there supported by the Fulbright program. She enjoys rock climbing, aerial circus and most other outdoor activities.
Ana's articles are available at: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7kP6yFkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
