Onikia Brown, Ph.D., RDN

Onikia Brown, Ph.D., RDN

  • Associate Professor
  • Nutritional Sciences
(334) 844-3161
onb0001@auburn.edu
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Onikia Brown, PhD, RDN is an Associate Professor and Director of Camp CHEW (Cooking Healthy Eating Well). Camp CHEW is a nutrition-focused educational program that promotes youth wellness through interactive learning while providing university students with experiential opportunities in nutrition education and community engagement. She is also the co-founder of Hunger Free Higher Ed, a statewide coalition dedicated to addressing college student food insecurity. In this role, Dr. Brown organizes an annual conference that provides coalition members with networking opportunities and a platform to share evidence-based strategies aimed at reducing food insecurity among college students. Dr. Brown’s research utilizes Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions that address nutrition-related health disparities. She is a member of a multi-state research group that fosters cross-institutional collaboration to generate research that informs policy and practice in nutrition and public health. Her teaching emphasizes experiential learning, engaging students in hands-on activities such as organizing a community Wellness Fair and completing 20 hours of service-learning with local nonprofit organizations. Through her scholarship, teaching, and service, Dr. Brown is committed to advancing health equity and improving nutrition outcomes in underserved communities.

Education

  • Ph.D.Iowa State University2008

Innovation

Fiagbor, R., & Brown, O. (2025). Psychometric validation of standardized instrument for assessing food and nutrition security among college students. Nutrients, 17(15):2514. DOI: 10.3390/nu17152514. 

Fiagbor, R.*, Brown, O. (2025). Methods used to assess food insecurity among US college students: A systematic review. Journal of American College Health, 7, 1-17. DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2025.253391 

Fiagbor, R.*, Brown, O. (2025). Assessing the 10-Item Food Security Survey Model (FSSM): Insights from College Students in Three US Universities.  Nutrients, 17(6), 1050. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17061050

Hickey, A.*, Brown, O., and Fiagbor, R. (2023). Campus-based interventions and strategies to address college students with food insecurity: A systematic review. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, 18(1), 81-95.  https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2022.2101413.

Tumwebaze, J., Molnar, J., Thornton, K., Brown, O. (2023). Effectiveness of home gardening in improving food security and health in Chacraseca, Nicaragua: A pilot study. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 33(2), 842-856.

Olfert, M., Barr, M., Hagedorn, R., Wattick, R., Zhou, W., Horacek, T., Mathews, A., Kattelmann, K., Kidd, T., White, A., Brown, O., Morrell, J., Franzen-Castle, L., Shelnutt, K., Byrd-Bredbenner, C., Tolar-Peterson, T., Greene, G., and Colby, S. (2020). eB4CAST approach improves science communication with stakeholders in a college-based health program. Frontiers in Public Health, 8:158. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00158.

Tumwebaze, J.*, Thornton, M.K., Molnar, J.J., and Brown, O.N. (2020). Using community-based participatory research to identify and prioritize interventions for ameliorating food security and health in Chacraseca, Nicaragua. Journal of Nutrition and Health Sciences, 7(2): 201.

Colby, S., Zhou, W., Allison, C., Mathews, A., Olfert, M., Morrell, J., Byrd-Bredbenner, C., Greene, G., Brown, O., Kattelmann, K., Shelnutt, K. (2020). Development and validation of the short healthy eating index survey with a college population to assess dietary quality and intake. Nutrients, 12(9), 2611. Doi: 10.3390/nu12092611.  

Brown, O., Wayde, W., Carter, M. (2020). Reducing obesity in rural Alabama: From focus groups to community coalitions. Journal of Extension, 58(3):v17. 

McNamara, J., Olfert, M., Sowers, M., Colby, S., White,A., Byrd-Bredbenner, C., Kattelmann, K., Franzen-Castle, L., Brown, O., Kidd, T., Shelnutt, K., Horacek, T., Greene, G. (2020). Development of an instrument measuring perceived environmental healthfulness: Behavior environment perception survey (BEPS). Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 152(2): 152-161.