Research

Dissertation

Determinants and health impacts of nutrition incentive program use

A mixed-methods study of how SNAP participants in Massachusetts and Indiana use nutrition incentives over time.

Massachusetts: SNAP and Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) administrative transaction data, used to understand who uses incentives and how their use changes over time.
Indiana: Longitudinal transaction data, program evaluation surveys, and qualitative interviews with Fresh Bucks participants, used to understand how personal, social, and environmental contexts shape incentive use.

Supported by an American Heart Association Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and a Rose Service-Learning Fellowship. Advisor: Cindy W. Leung.

COVID-19 SNAP Waivers

How COVID-19 waivers affected SNAP participants’ food security and health, and how state SNAP agencies implemented and unwound them. This team project draws on original surveys, qualitative interviews, and secondary data.

SNAP Restriction Waivers

An evaluation of state waivers that remove sugary drinks and candy from SNAP eligibility, examining effects on diet quality and stigma.

Working Papers

Hammad, N., Sheinberg, E., Al Saeidi, N., Madan, P., Xiao, Y., Leung, C.W.. “Less like a Harvard student”: A qualitative study exploring food insecurity among graduate students in health sciences under review Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Qualitative study of food insecurity among health sciences graduate students.
Antonacci, C.C., Uriarte, A., Sheinberg, E., Weston, C.W., Green, C., Hedderman, T., Laska, M.N., Leung, C.W., Wolfson, J.A.. “It was just chaos”: State SNAP Directors’ Experiences Implementing and De-implementing COVID-era SNAP Waivers work in progress
Interviews with state SNAP directors on implementing and unwinding pandemic-era program waivers.
Sheinberg, E., Uriarte, A., Tisch, A., Waselewski, M., Brandt, E.J., Wolfson, J.A., Chang, T., Leung, C.W.. Youth Perspectives on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Policy Changes due to House Resolution One work in progress
National text-message poll of youth ages 14–24 on H.R. 1’s SNAP work requirements and benefit limits.

Publications

Dougan, S., Jackson, K.E., Hamad, R., Gosliner, W., Dang, K., Sheinberg, E., Fernald, L.C.W. (2026). Safety net program participation and churning during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of low-income California families. SSM – Population Health, 35:101932. doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2026.101932
Sheinberg, E., Schmidt, L., Mande, J., Martinez-Steele, E., Tobias, D., Leung, C. (2026). The intersection of diet quality and ultra-processed food intake: Using evidence-based categories to characterize differences in cardiometabolic profiles. American Journal of Public Health. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2026.308494
Sheinberg, E., Tucker, A.C., Uriarte, A., Weston, C.M., Antonacci, C.C., Laska, M.N., Wolfson, J.A., Leung, C.W. (2026). Understanding the association of food insecurity and nutrition insecurity with diet quality: A cross-sectional analysis of two national samples. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 123(2):101141. doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.101141
Sheinberg, E., Insolera, N., Hammad, N., Uriarte, A., Weston, C., Laska, M., Wolfson, J., Leung, C. (2025). New and recurring food insecurity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in a nationally representative sample. JAMA Health Forum, 6(9):e253603. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.3603
Gahan, E., Hansotte, E., Lindstrom, E., Vaughn, S., Cummings, S. (2023). The impact of sodium reduction on overall nutrient content in Child and Adult Care Food Program meals. Public Health Nutrition, 26(11). doi:10.1017/S1368980023001167
Gahan, E., Farooqui, S., Leung, C.W. (2022). “You feel out of place”: A PhotoVoice study of the impact of food insecurity on college students. Health Equity, 6:595–602. doi:10.1089/heq.2022.0067
Hansotte, E., Gahan, E., Vaughn, S., Lindstrom, K.E., Cummings, S. (2021). Sodium reduction in distributive meals through speed-scratch cooking. Preventing Chronic Disease, 18:E75. doi:10.5888/pcd18.210033

Papers published before 2024 appear under my former name, Elise Gahan.

Reports

Sheinberg, E., Leung, C., Corallo, K., Day Leong, A. (2026). Nourished From the Start: The Role of SNAP in Promoting Healthy Childhoods. UNICEF USA.

Presentations

Policy and Systems-Level Drivers of SNAP Participant Experiences when Applying and Recertifying During COVID-19: A Qualitative Study
Oral presentation, Nutrition 2026 (ASN), Washington, DC, Jun 2026
Self-Rated Diet, but not Nutrition Security, Predicts Diet Quality
Oral presentation, APHA Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, Nov 2025
Navigating Change: A Qualitative Analysis of SNAP Participants’ Experiences of Program Waivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Poster, APHA Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, Nov 2025
Food Insecurity and Nutrition Insecurity Predicts Diet Quality in a National Sample of SNAP Participants
Poster, Nutrition 2025 (ASN), Orlando, FL, May 2025
Moving Towards Nutrition Security: Differences in Sociodemographic, Dietary and Cardiometabolic Profiles using Evidence-Based Diet Quality Categories
Poster, Nutrition 2024 (ASN), Chicago, IL, Jun 2024
Token, Checks, or Cards: The Impact of Scrip in a SNAP-Matching Nutrition Incentive Program at Farmers Markets
Workshop presentation, Healthy Eating Incentives Workshop, Auburn, AL, Oct 2023
Trifecta! Achieving Triple Wins in Older Adult Meal Programs
Conference presentation, National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs, virtual, Jun 2022
Healthy Food, Healthy Bodies: Using Food Service Guidelines in Park and Recreation Departments
Conference presentation, NRPA Annual Conference, Nashville, TN, Sep 2021