Nasser Sharareh likes to start work presentations with photos of the city where he was born to show why he feels right at home in Utah.
Geographically speaking, Tehran, Iran, has a lot in common with Salt Lake City. Towering mountains, four distinct seasons, and the occasional inversion.
Hiking in the Wasatch Mountains, where the landscape feels so familiar, helps him relax and quiet his mind after long days as a researcher exploring food insecurity—how, and why, people lack access to healthy food. Sometimes, he brings a notebook with him and writes for hours, especially in the summer.
Research turned out to be his landing place, but Nasser’s path to health care was a winding one. Growing up, his dream was to play soccer professionally. Nasser played seriously from childhood into his university years, where he struggled to find himself academically, switching from mathematics to computer science before landing on industrial engineering. He still trained up to three times a day, until a knee injury and frustrations with the soccer establishment started to shift his mind toward leaving Iran.
Applying to graduate schools across the globe, he landed in upstate New York in 2014 to earn his MSc and PhD in industrial and systems engineering from Binghamton University before ultimately finding his calling in Utah.
Like many others, the outdoor lifestyle and sheer beauty of the place encouraged him to move out west. But it was the people he met who made all the difference.
“I’m a people person,” Nasser says, remembering his interview at the U’s Department of Population Health Sciences. “I felt a sense of family in the department, and that really stayed with me.”
His decision to join University of Utah Health carried him not only across the country but also into health care for the first time, where he had to learn a new vocabulary and write proposals in English, his second language. Nasser realized he could apply his engineering methods to a complex system like the food industry. It was a steep learning curve, but with the encouragement of supportive mentors and colleagues, he found his footing.
“He’s super creative and has innovative approaches to how to think about things,” says Rachel Hess, MD, MS, health system chief research officer at U of U Health and one of Nasser’s longtime mentors. “He’s an engineer by training and brings that way of thinking to health care. He’s also very dedicated to improving people’s lives, trying to understand food insecurity, how people from different backgrounds access the care and services they need, and how stressors and life events can put them in harm’s way.”
Nasser’s career focus—researching the obstacles people face in accessing healthy food—grew partly out of his own experiences as an immigrant. Food is deeply rooted in Iranian culture, where meals are central to conversation and daily life. During his first several months in the U.S., he often ate alone, surviving mostly on beans and potatoes. Like many people trying to make ends meet, he didn’t think of it as food insecurity. But not being able to afford balanced, nutritious meals is a central part of being food insecure.
Through his research and partnerships with organizations like the Utah Food Security Council, he works on influencing public policy to address the gaps in our systems that can prevent Utahns from accessing healthy food and getting the social support they need.
That’s no small task. For individuals and families facing food insecurity, language barriers, cultural differences, and financial problems (like a layoff, a car breaking down, or an ER visit) can be what keeps them from their next meal. Recent government cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), for example, also weigh heavily on Nasser’s mind.
Key findings in his research so far have shown that immigrants are at higher risk of food insecurity, and many people don’t access SNAP due to fear, stigma, and eligibility questions that arise when their incomes begin to stabilize. Nasser has also found gaps in how people can learn about and understand food programs, so he’s an advocate for better communication.
His work can be emotionally taxing, but it’s people’s willingness to work together that keeps Nasser hopeful. “I’ve built so many partnerships with different people in the state, different communities and food-related organizations,” he says. “They’re a big part of my research.” He and his wife—also an Iranian immigrant—call their community here very “supportive and kind.” His wish is for that same level of kindness at the policy level.
It’s a big dream, one Nasser knows will require a lifetime of work. “The hope of my research is to benefit society. You have to do research to improve your community.” He finally feels he’s found the right place to do it. Utah feels like home—he’s built a thriving career, found his life partner, and officially became a U.S. citizen. And when he needs a moment to breathe and reset, he always has the mountains. “That’s what I love about it here,” he says. “When you go into the mountains, you find the strength and calmness to carry on.”
–By Tiffini Porter; Photos by Kim Raff
