Omni L. Cassidy, PhD

I am an Assistant Professor and Director of the Food, Culture, & Tech Lab. My research examines the intersections of food, culture, and technology with a focus on how food and beverage companies use digital technologies, such as immersive and virtual reality (VR), to market unhealthy products. My work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31) to examine the effect of targeted TV food advertisements on food choices in adolescent girls. I completed my postdoctoral fellowship at NYU Grossman School of Medicine through the NYU Training Program in Healthcare Delivery Science and Population Health (T32) sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality where I received additional training in content analysis and examining social media food marketing. In September 2024, I was awarded an NIH Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award (K01) to examine the effects of VR-based food marketing on hunger and food choices in young adults. I have also received funding from Duke University School of Medicine to teach and conduct preliminary research on unhealthy food and beverage marketing in Guatemala. 

I have a strong interest in using research to inform policies and have supported various food policy proposals in New York. 

I hope to eventually leverage advanced digital technologies to develop, improve, and inform interventions and policies that promote food sovereignty and equitable food environments. In June 2024, my vision for food sovereignty and equitable food environments was the subject of an invited talk at TEDxNYU Langone Health.

Prior to joining NYU Grossman School of Medicine, I completed an American Psychological Association–accredited clinical internship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) where I conducted psychiatric assessments and individual psychotherapy in a variety of clinics, including attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, feeding, eating disorders, and perinatal mental health. I earned my PhD in medical and clinical psychology from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.

My goal is to help create higher quality food environments for people and the planet.