Prof. Sera Lewise Young’s work focuses on understanding how women, especially in low-resource settings, cope to preserve their health and that of their families.
Her current research focuses on quantifying human experiences with problems related to water, and unpacking their consequences for nutrition, health, and well-being. At UNU-INWEH, Professor Young expands the Institute’s work on human-centered water security metrics, deepening its engagement with biocultural approaches to health. Her efforts strengthen the contributions of the institute to global policy dialogues on sustainable development, gender equity, and public health.
Prof. Young is Professor of Anthropology, co-Director for the Center for Water, and the Morton O. Schapiro Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. She led a large team in the development of the Water InSecurity Experiences (WISE) Scales, the first globally equivalent way of measuring water access and use. The WISE Scales have been used by hundreds of organizations in more than 90 countries.
She is also co-Editor-in-Chief of PLOS Water and has co-authored more than 180 peer-reviewed publications. Her most recent accolade is a medal from the Director of Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health, the inaugural “Public Health Champion Award,” which she accepted on behalf of the Water Insecurity Experiences Network of Latin America and the Caribbean for their work on measuring water security. Other recognitions include the Margaret Mead Award for her book Craving Earth, an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship, the Norman Kretchmer Memorial Award in Nutrition and Development, and the Scrimshaw Mid-Career Award in Global Nutrition.