Dr. Patrick Baur
Patrick is an assistant professor of food systems policy and innovation in the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Program and Department of Fisheries, Animal, and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. His collaborator networks include the Center for Diversified Farming Systems, the STS Food and Agriculture Network, and Agriculture and Food of the Middle. Patrick received his PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of California, Berkeley, and his BA in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard University.
Dr. Jaime Barrett
Jaime joined the Baur Food Systems Lab as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2024 as part of a USDA OREI funded project focused on lowering food safety barriers for organic specialty crop farmers. Jaime received a PhD from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in Geography and a master’s from University of Delaware in Geography. Her research is focused on agriculture policy and understanding how farmers respond to the evolving political climate. Her work also focuses on identifying alignments and divergences in discourse across different groups working in and around agriculture and including diverse voices in agriculture policy conversations, especially those historically underrepresented.
Dr. Rose Jennings
Rose joined the Baur Food Systems Lab in 2024 as a Postdoctoral Fellow for the Belmont Forum, NSF-funded project, JUST GROW. Rose received her Doctorate in Public Health at the University of Texas School of Public Health, her Master’s in International Community Health from the University of Oslo, and a bachelors in Human Geography from the University of Texas. At the macro level, she is coordinating a trans-disciplinary, multi-national group of researchers studying equitable and just urban agriculture intensification and synthesizing their work. At the mezzo level, she is researching how health policy interacts with urban agriculture and the health benefits of gender equity within food system transformation. At the micro level, Rose is learning how to raise two girls and grow food in the city with resiliency and community in mind.
Sheriff Aliu, MSc
Sheriff joined the Baur Food Systems Lab as a PhD student in 2022, researching equity and sustainability dimensions of controlled environment agriculture. Before joining URI, he worked as a consultant providing research and advisory services to leading international development organizations. He received his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Administration from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta and a master’s degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security from Newcastle University, England. He is a commonwealth scholar and a big fan of soccer and boxing.
Terpase Gbaa, MSc
Terpase joined the Baur Food Systems Lab in 2025. Terpase is passionate about ensuring safe and wholesome food, sustainable food production and reducing consumption of ultra-processed foods. He is currently working on his dissertation, “Enhancing Regulatory Compliance, Food Safety Risk Management, and Production Budgets for Sustainable Food Production”. Prior to URI, Terpase worked in the food and beverage and animal feeds industries as a Quality Control/Quality Assurance professional in Nigeria.
Baur Food Systems Lab 