All content on this website was created by me. Certain works may be listed under my previous legal name, Kat Pitts.
Scoping Review Team Lead
About: In 2021, I had the incredible opportunity to join the Rockefeller Foundation Global Food Portfolio as a summer associate. The experience was so enriching, and I was offered a part-time role that stretched through the 2022-2023 academic year. And, just when I thought my journey with them couldn't get any better, I returned for a second round as a summer associate in 2023.
During my time with the foundation, one of my proudest achievements is leading a scoping review. I delved into the intricate web of upstream drivers and their profound impact on downstream variations in food composition. I was so passionate about this project and was honored with a scholarship that allowed me to present our preliminary findings at the prestigious 2023 Society for Ethnobotany Joint Conference, hosted in collaboration with the Society of Ethnobiology at my alma mater, Emory University.
It was an unforgettable experience, reaffirming my commitment to positively impacting the world of food systems and ethnobotany.
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Key takeaways: Leading an international team of 18 collaborators to execute this review provided me with invaluable leadership development, equipping me with the skills to foster collaboration and drive a complex project toward completion. Moreover, the opportunity to present my work and engage with fellow scholars at the conference was profoundly rewarding, as it allowed me to share insights, exchange ideas, and forge connections that will undoubtedly shape my future endeavors.
Our review aims to identify environmental and agricultural factors affecting crop composition, pinpoint research gaps, and assess the vulnerability of various food biomolecules to these factors. We follow PRISMA guidelines to ensure reporting rigor and transparency.
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Methods: We conducted a preliminary search using 150 search terms across seven databases, focusing on upstream drivers and downstream effects on food composition. We selected three specialized databases for the main search. Abstracts were screened using Covidence and Zotero software, and a standardized data extraction spreadsheet was employed to collect relevant information.
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Application: While the scoping review is ongoing, initial analysis indicates that soil quality, water availability, climate conditions, and management practices significantly impact crop composition. These findings will inform the analysis of food composition meta-data by PTFI. Our review contributes to foodomics and supports research and interventions for sustainable food systems. The final manuscript will categorize and map the identified drivers, shedding light on under-researched areas and identifying vulnerable food biomolecule groups.
First Place Prize, Health Messaging for Justice 2023: Student Competition
Sponsored by: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion:
Competition Aim:
To showcase the work of MSPH students in highlighting how health communications can be used as a powerful tool to address stigma, enhance social justice, and counteract racism in domestic or global settings.
My World Health Organization Statement
COVID-19 has profoundly uprooted global norms. While the pandemic affects people across the globe, the impacts are different based on where you live and who you are. For the under-30s of the world, we will be hit hardest by long-term economic, social, and emotional stressors, and we will bear the brunt of the fallout if leaders fail to act on pandemic preparedness. With crises like global conflict, climate change, and potentially another deadly pandemic on the horizon, youth voices must be prioritized in change-making.
Case Study
Cowpea-Maize Intercropping for Fertilizer Shortages in Rwanda
PREPARED BY KAT MORGAN FOR ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION FOOD TEAM, SUMMER 2022
In 2022, I conducted a case study for the Rockefeller Foundation on the fertilizer shortage issue in Rwanda, where import dependency from Russia led to a 100% surge in fertilizer prices. This shortage particularly impacted staple crops like maize, rice, and Irish potatoes, which rely heavily on fertilizers for optimal yields.
To address this problem, I explored cowpea-maize intercropping as a cost-effective solution. This practice enhances soil health and crop yields by reducing the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. At a 50:50 intercropping ratio, cowpea-maize intercropping could supply 2⁄3 of maize's required nitrogen, resulting in significant cost savings of $25.08 per hectare for smallholders.
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This finding is based on the fact that maize typically requires 120 kg of added nitrogen inputs per hectare, costing $413.60 per hectare for fertilizers without intercropping. However, intercropping reduces the nitrogen requirement to 21 kg per hectare, significantly lowering input costs.
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In conclusion, intercropping cowpeas with maize can substantially reduce fertilizer needs and costs. I recommend allocating funds to both fertilizers and intercropping capacity building to address immediate food security needs while promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
This approach addresses the urgency of the situation and contributes to long-term benefits such as soil health, climate resilience, and reduced dependency on external inputs.
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The broader implications of this research include:
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Its relevance to regions facing fertilizer supply challenges.
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The potential applicability of per-hectare cost insights to small-scale farming systems elsewhere.
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The sustainability it offers to African food systems by balancing practicality with long-term benefits and farmer sovereignty.
Navigating the Pandemic Podcast
I am the host and producer of the public health podcast Navigating the Pandemic, nominated for “Best Health Podcast” in the International Quill Podcast awards. Ranked #4 of the top 15 Pandemic Podcasts on the internet by Feedspot. With a listener base spanning thirteen countries, the show disseminates accurate information about COVID-19 response and preparedness with a focus on addressing pandemic disparities.
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The show was selected as a Global Youth Mobilisation Local Solutions Grantee. Over the last two years, podcasting has helped me to make sense of the pandemic for myself and my global audience. It’s been a privilege to interview experts who are passionate about pandemic research/mitigation/prevention, and now my podcasting efforts will reach a larger audience via this grant.
Responsibilities include: content research and development, technical writing, project organization, interviewing, and audio editing to make accurate and credible information accessible by amplifying expert voices through a conversational tone.
Institute of Public Health
Gold Family Summer Research Scholar
2021 Washington University Institute of Public Health Summer Research Program Cohort member.
As a research assistant for the Compound Vulnerability and COVID-19: African American and African Low Wage Allied Healthcare Workers and Ancillary Staff project, I transcribed qualitative interviews; helped develop and design the research survey instrument with Qualtrics software; authored topical research summaries on themes of frontline work, COVID-19 racial disparities in St. Louis, and vaccine misinformation; conducted a literature review on vaccine hesitancy; and conducted qualitative coding and vaccine hesitancy data analysis as part of a subproject gauging vaccine hesitancy in our research population.
Undergraduate Directed Anthropology Research:
Addressing Food Insecurity in Appalachia: An Anthropological Public Health Assessment and Recommendations
My research questions aim to understand how income and region impact access to nutritious food. As an individual with Appalachian roots, I am interested in exploring how food insecurity affects poor, rural populations. Through my college education, I realized that the lack of health literacy and resources I observed growing up were multifactorial issues. Much of my early life was spent in small, southern towns, where health and nutrition literacy were limited. The experiences of my family members, the environments of the communities I grew up in, and my own health journey have greatly informed my desire to study health disparities and the social determinants of health, particularly as they relate to nutrition.
Cultural Analysis + Public Health Assessment
Literature Review +Research Proposal