Aviva Musicus named to Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ list

Aviva Musicus, SD ’20, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was named to Forbes magazine’s 2021 “30 Under 30” list in the health care category. The list was announced December 1, 2020.

Musicus was recognized for her work studying how food-related policy affects human health and behavior. An expert in food label design, her research helped inform a sodium labeling law in Philadelphia.

She was among the Forbes honorees covered in a December 4 story in Nutrition Insight. She said in the article that her upcoming work will focus on the behavioral effects of sodium and sugar warning labels, as well as on other modifications to food packages and restaurant menus aimed at promoting healthy choices. She also will be conducting cost-effectiveness analyses of nutrition policies and looking at dietary solutions that can benefit human as well as environmental health. She said that she hopes that the U.S. will implement mandatory warnings on packaged foods and drinks that are high in added sugars.

“This could substantially improve population health, especially if combined with other policies, such as taxes on sugary drinks and restrictions on child-directed junk food marketing,” she said.

Read Forbes article: Aviva Musicus profile

Read Nutrition Insight article: The Forbes 30 under 30 nominees set to shake up nutrition in 2021