Valerie Flax

Valerie Flax is a nutrition epidemiologist and evaluator in RTI International’s Health Practice Area. She has more than 30 years of experience implementing public health programs and conducting research in low- and middle-income countries. Her research includes the evaluation of large-scale nutrition programs, design and testing of innovative community-based interventions to improve infant and young child feeding practices, and implementation research related to maternal and child nutrition programs. 

Dr. Flax has expertise in developing theories of change, designing indicators to measure program implementation and impact, selecting and implementing survey and evaluation methodologies, conducting formative research and community-based trials, and using evidence to inform public health program design and adaptation.

Among Dr. Flax's current projects is a cluster-randomized mixed methods impact evaluation of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition’s Transforming Food Systems to Improve Diet Quality and Resilience for the Most Vulnerable in Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Uganda. She also manages a program evaluation of the Future Well Communities initiative, which provides services for community members with diabetes or at risk of diabetes, in Stockton, California. In addition, she leads an implementation research study to assess the feasibility, acceptability, fidelity, costs, and implementation strategies for a single-dose postpartum intravenous iron intervention in India and Pakistan.