Dr. Banna's research interest is in improving dietary intake of underserved children and adolescents domestically and internationally and developing tools to assess food behaviors and dietary intake, particularly in Spanish-speaking populations. Her doctoral work at the University of California, Davis involved the development of two tools, a food behavior checklist and physical activity questionnaire, to be used in the low-income Spanish-speaking community in the U.S. to evaluate nutrition education interventions. She also worked as a research scientist at the Instituto de Investigación Nutricional in Lima, Peru, where she supervised a research study focused on assessing the dietary habits of adolescents in a periurban community. Dr. Banna is currently the principal investigator on a USDA-funded study focused on assessment of dietary intake and food waste using a mobile device food record in a multiethnic population of adolescents in Hawaii. She is also a member of a multi-state project focused on motivating parents to promote intake of calcium rich foods among early adolescents.