Marie T. Ruel was appointed Division Director of IFPRI's Food Consumption and Nutrition Division in 2004. From 1996 until her current appointment, she served as Senior Research Fellow and Research Fellow in that division. Since joining IFPRI, she led the Multi-Country Program on Challenges to Urban Food and Nutrition and the Global Regional Project on Diet Quality and Diet Changes of the Poor. Prior to IFPRI, she was head of the Nutrition and Health Division at the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama/Pan American Health Organization (INCAP/PAHO) in Guatemala. Dr. Ruel received her Ph.D. in International Nutrition from Cornell University and her Masters in Health Sciences from Laval University in Canada.

Dr. Ruel has worked for more than 20 years on issues related to policies and programs to alleviate poverty and child malnutrition in developing countries. She has published extensively in nutrition and epidemiology journals on topics such as maternal and child nutrition, food based strategies to improve diet quality and micronutrient nutrition, urban livelihoods, food security and nutrition, and the development of indicators of child feeding and care practices. She has served on various international expert committees, such as the National Academy of Sciences, the International Zinc in Nutrition Consultative Group, and the International Micronutrient Advisory Group of Experts established by the World Health Organization.

• Guatemala
• Haiti
• Ghana

• Dietary Diversity Is Associated with Child Nutritional Status: Evidence from 11 Demographic and Health Surveys
  Arimond, M. and M.T. Ruel. Journal of Nutrition 134: 2579-2585, 2004.
• Fortified donated cereal blends improve the nutrient density of traditional complementary foods, but are insufficient to fill the iron and zinc gaps in 6-8 month old infants in Haiti
  Ruel, M.T., P. Menon, C. Loechl and G. Pelto. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 25(4): 361-376, 2004.
• Features of urban food and nutrition security and considerations for successful urban programming
  Ruel, M.T. and J.L. Garrett. Electronic Journal of Agriculture and Development Economics 1(2): 242-271, 2004.
• Operationalizing Dietary Diversity: Conceptual and Measurement Issues
  Ruel, M.T. Journal of Nutrition Supplement 133; 3911S-3926S, 2003.
• Child feeding practices are associated with child nritional status in Latin America: Innovative uses of the Demographic and Health Surveys
  Ruel, M.T. and P. Menon. Journal of Nutrition 132: 1180-1187, 2002.
• Can Food-Based Strategies Help Reduce Vitamin A and Iron Deficiencies?
  Ruel, M.T. Food Policy Review #5, International Food Policy Research Institute. December 2001.
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• The natural history of growth failure: importance of intrauterine and postnatal periods
  Ruel, M.T. In: Nutrition and Growth, Martorell, R. and Haschke, F., eds. Nestlé Nutrition Workshop Series, Pediatric Program, Vol. 47. Nestec Ltd., Vevey/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia 2001, pp: 123-158.
• Poor maternal schooling is the main constraint to good child care practices in Accra
  Armar-Klemesu, M., M.T. Ruel, D. Maxwell, C.E. Levin and S.S. Morris. Journal of Nutrition 130 (6): 1597-1607, 2000.
• Good care practices mitigate the negative effects of poverty and low maternal schooling on children's nutritional status: evidence from Accra
  Ruel, M.T., Levin, C.E., Armar-Klemesu, M., Maxwell, D.G. and S.S. Morris. World Development 27 (11): 1993-2009, 1999.
• Some urban facts of life: Implications for research and policy
  Ruel, M.T., Haddad, L.H. and J.L. Garrett. World Development 27 (11): 1917-1938, 1999.
• Plant breeding: a long-term strategy for the control of zinc deficiency in vulnerable populations
  Ruel, M.T. and H. Bouis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 68 (2S): 488S-494S. 1998.