Christine D. Garner, PhD, RD, CLC

Personal Information

Dr. Garner is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Researcher in the InfantRisk Center, and Assistant Vice President of Research at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Amarillo. She completed her Doctorate and Master’s degrees in Nutrition at Cornell University, and completed her Registered Dietitian training at UC San Francisco. Her research focuses on maternal and child health with a nutrition lens during pregnancy, breastfeeding, infancy, and early childhood – the “first 1000 days” – with particular interest in the natural intersection between the health of the mother and child. At Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, she is a researcher in the InfantRisk Center, a world renown center that translates lactation pharmacology to the public and has been engaging local communities to address critical maternal and child health disparities. Through transdisciplinary collaborations with obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry, pharmacology, and community partners she works to develop comprehensive strategies to improve maternal and child nutrition and health.

Recent and current research projects examine health disparities in Amarillo, TX, and the surrounding areas. As PI for a phase I, NIH-funded (IMPROVE-CIP) implementation science study, she aims to identify and address maternal health disparities in the Texas Panhandle. Projects are also underway related to food insecurity and maternal mental health (MamaMeals) among pregnant and postpartum women with low income. Other research interests relate to understanding the reasons for and barriers to important health-related behaviors such as breastfeeding, perinatal use of cannabis and other substances, access of prenatal care, and introduction of complementary foods.

CV

Research Interests

• Maternal and child health and nutrition
• Clinical nutrition
• Community-based interventions
• Implementation science
• Food is medicine
• Food insecurity and health disparities

Awards & Honors

• Quality Team Award (2024)
• Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science, and Technology protégé (2024)
• Regional Dean’s Outstanding Research Award (2023)
• Academic Pediatric Association Young Investigator Award in Nutrition (2022)

Related Links

• NLM page
• Google Scholar