Dr. Brenton was trained as a Biocultural Anthropologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He is currently an Associate Professor of Anthropology; St. John’s College Faculty Coordinator for Academic Service-Learning and Community-Based Research; Senior Technology Fellow, Center for Teaching and Learning; Senior Research Fellow, Vincentian Center for Church and Society; Co-Chair of the Rendu Roundtable on Religion and Science; and serves as an Expert for the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. His primary research specialty is the anthropology of food and health. Dr. Brenton's cross-cultural and global applied research experience has included fieldwork in South America, Southern and Eastern Africa, Western Europe, and among Native American communities across the U.S. Some of his current research ranges from the paradox of childhood hunger and obesity among families living in poverty in New York City to childhood malnutrition and food insecurity in the Ecuadorian Amazon.. Dr. Brenton was a recent recipient of the St. John's University Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship Award, in Recognition for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching; and The Academic Service-Learning Faculty Award.