Research Director / Research Professor
Food Fortification Initiative / Emory University
Rollins School of Public Health
Dr. Helena Pachón is a public health nutritionist with over 25 years of work experience in research and programs to reduce malnutrition particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Currently, she supports food fortification in her capacity as Research Director for the Food Fortification Initiative (FFI). At FFI, Dr. Pachón collates or generates evidence on the public health impact of wheat flour, maize flour and rice fortification. With her FFI colleagues, she also provides technical assistance to country counterparts in fortification advocacy, monitoring and evaluation. Dr. Pachón completed her nutrition doctoral training at Cornell University and her Master of Public Health at Harvard University. She has an appointment at Emory University as Research Professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health. In 2025 she was selected as an inaugural Excellence in Nutrition Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition.