Kurt Hager is an Instructor in the Division of Epidemiology, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences. Dr. Hager’s interests lay at the intersection of structural determinants of health, food insecurity, and government nutrition and health insurance programs. His current research focuses on the effectiveness of nutritional interventions and policies on chronic disease in the U.S, including evaluations of produce prescriptions and medically tailored meals integrated into clinical care. At UMass Chan Medical School, Dr. Hager is evaluating the effectiveness the Flexible Services Program, which addresses food and housing insecurity under Massachusetts’s Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver. Dr. Hager has training in nutritional epidemiology and quantitative research methods and his recent studies have included policy modeling, economic evaluations, and quasi-experimental studies.

Dr. Hager’s involvement in policy initiatives underscores his commitment to translating science into evidence-based policy. These include former projects at the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School, as an author on the Aspen Institute’s Food is Medicine Research Action Plan, and as a writer with the Task Force on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. He is currently serving as a steering committee member of the National Produce Prescription Collaborative.