ISBNPA 2026 Annual Meeting
International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) 2026 Annual Meeting • May 27–30, 2026, Cádiz, Spain
Attendees: Attendees: Chief Executive Officer Dr. Amy Yaroch, Chief Operating Officer Leah Carpenter, Director of Scientific Strategy Dr. Carmen Byker Shanks, Senior Research Scientist Dr. Laura Balis, and Senior Research Scientist Dr. Eric Calloway
Overview: Several CNHI researchers attended and presented at the 2026 ISBNPA Annual Meeting in Cádiz, Spain. ISBNPA convenes researchers and practitioners from around the world to exchange emerging research and innovative approaches related to nutrition, physical activity, implementation science, and public health.
Highlights from CNHI staff participation included:
Dr. Amy Yaroch served as chair and discussant for two sessions. The first was a debate featuring Carmen Byker Shanks and Aron Troen of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, entitled “Science or Strategy? Public Health Nutrition’s Compass in a Polarized World.” The second was a symposium featuring Carmen Byker Shanks, Eric Calloway and Aron Troen entitled “Fitting Food is Medicine to Context: Implementation Lessons from Programs in the U.S. and Israel.”
Dr. Carmen Byker Shanks’ position in the debate was” “Strategic Adaptation: Engaging Context to Strengthen Public Health Nutrition Impact.” Her presentation within the symposium, on behalf of Senior Research Scientist Bailey Houghtaling, who was unable to attend, focused on “Potential Unintended Consequences of a Fresh-only Produce Prescription Program Policy in the United States.” She also led ISBNPA’s Building Future Leaders course networking session. She contributed to two posters, one led by Dr. Sarah Stotz focused on the qualitative results of a multi-site produce prescription evaluation, and the other led by Kelli Begay focused on GusNIP’s Indigenous Rural Learning Circle Initiative.
Dr. Laura Balis presented a poster on “Implementation Strategies Applied in Communities Matching Process (ISAC Match): Expanded Guidance and Case Study.”
Dr. Eric Calloway shared one poster (authored by Bailey Houghtaling) on “Sustaining Food Is Medicine Programs: Evidence from Multi-site Food Bank – Healthcare Partnerships across the United States.” He also participated in an oral session focused on advancing food security measurement, entitled “The Agency Dimension of Food Security: Measurement Development and Application.” His presentation within the symposium was entitled “Improving Food Is Medicine Access and Impacts: Screening and Enrollment Insights from Multiple Research Studies.” During the conference, Dr. Calloway also received the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Most Cited Methodology Paper Award for the 2023 article, “New measures to assess the ‘Other’ three pillars of food security—availability, utilization, and stability.”
Leah Carpenter attended in her capacity as Treasurer of ISBNPA and Executive Committee member. She participated in the annual in-person Executive Committee meeting and chaired a One to Watch session featuring early career researcher Jennifer Gale.
Together, these contributions highlighted CNHI’s continued leadership in advancing research and practical solutions that strengthen nutrition and public health initiatives across the US. The team enjoyed discussing CNHI’s work with an international audience and learning from other global researchers.
