Janina Galler developed an interest in neurochemistry in high school and conducted research on brain enzymes that led to academic honors. She is now a leading expert on child malnutrition and brain development. She founded the longitudinal Barbados Nutrition Study in 1973 to examine the long-term effects of childhood malnutrition. The study's major finding that malnutrition can cause attention deficits that persist into adulthood has shaped public policy. Galler also directs research on the epigenetic impacts of early malnutrition on brain development. She graduated from Einstein College of Medicine, where she had strong mentorship and developed her academic and research career focusing on the social impacts of medicine.