Elise Sheinberg, MPH, RDN

I am a fourth-year PhD candidate in Population Health Sciences (Public Health Nutrition) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, advised by Dr. Cindy Leung, and a registered dietitian nutritionist. I study how federal nutrition programs, especially the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and SNAP-matching nutrition incentive programs, affect food security, diet quality, and chronic disease.

My dissertation uses mixed methods to study how SNAP participants in Massachusetts and Indiana use nutrition incentives over time. In Massachusetts, I analyze SNAP and Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) administrative transaction data to understand who uses incentives and how their use changes over time. In Indiana, I combine longitudinal transaction data, program evaluation surveys, and qualitative interviews to understand how personal, social, and environmental contexts shape incentive use. My dissertation is supported by an American Heart Association Pre-Doctoral Fellowship.

I also study how SNAP policy changes affect participants’ food security and health. With a team, I am examining how COVID-19 waivers affected SNAP participants and how state SNAP agencies implemented and unwound them, drawing on original surveys, qualitative interviews, and secondary data. I am also evaluating SNAP restriction waivers to understand how removing sugary drinks and candy from SNAP eligibility affects diet quality and stigma. Across these projects, my goal is to produce evidence that informs SNAP policy and program design.

My research is grounded in practice. Before my PhD, I managed a SNAP-matching nutrition incentive program at the Marion County Public Health Department in Indianapolis, where I led the rollout of electronic token technology. I also worked as a cardiovascular dietitian, implementing food service guidelines across meal programs serving more than 10,000 meals a day. I currently advise the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance on expanding HIP to new vendors, and I was lead author of UNICEF USA’s 2026 report on SNAP and child health.