Dr. Lisa Chasan-Taber is a professor of epidemiology and the former associate dean for research at the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. She has taught proposal and grant writing for over 15 years, during which time she has been continually funded as a principal investigator of National Institutes of Health Research Awards and has been recognized for her research through the Chancellor's Medal, the highest recognition bestowed to faculty by the university. She has served on national review panels and as a mentor on Career Development Awards. She received her post-doctoral and doctoral training in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health, master's degree in public health from the University of Massachusetts, and bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania.