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2009-2010: Early-Career Investigators CommitteeMelissa Nelson Laska, PhD, RD (Chair)
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| Assistant Professor Division of Epidemiology & Community Health University of Minnesota 1300 S. 2nd Street, WBOB Suite 300 Minneapolis, MN 55454-1015 Tel: (612) 624-8832 Fax: (612) 624-0315 Email: mnlaska@umn.edu |
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Melissa Nelson Laska, PhD, RD is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. Her primary research interests are related to the behavioral, social and contextual influences on excess weight gain among emerging adults. She is also engaged in research that is more broadly related to obesity prevention in children, adolescents and families, as well as the promotion of healthy food availability in underserved communities.
| Professor Simon Fraser University 8888 University Dr. WMC, Room 2805 Burnaby BC CANADA V5A 1S6 Email: finegood@sfu.ca |
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Diane T. Finegood, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC and Executive Director of the CAPTURE Project, a primary prevention initiative funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Her current research interests include using complex systems models and methods to address population level challenges associated with obesity. The CAPTURE Project is building a platform to enhance the collection, sharing and use of practice-based evidence to improve primary prevention of chronic disease.
| Assistant Professor University of Alabama at Birmingham Physiology and Metabolism 1530 Third Avenue South Birmingham, AL 35294-3360 Tel: (205) 934-2029 Fax: (205) 934-7050 Email: jose@uab.edu |
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Dr. Jose R Fernandez is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His area of expertise is in the use of genetic admixture as a tool to understand the influences of genetic ancestral background in obesity and diabetes traits in children and adults, particularly in members of minority populations. Dr. Fernandez is also experienced in the use of genetic, social and cultural measures to "decompose" racial classification and the role of these factors in disease.
PhD Candidate |
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Angela S. Alberga, is a PhD Candidate in Human Kinetics specializing in exercise physiology at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Angela is currently working on a large clinical trial in the Ottawa area entitled the Healthy Eating Aerobic and Resistance Training in Youth (HEARTY) trial. Her research interests focus on the effects of various exercise modalities on metabolism, fitness, metabolic profile and body composition in overweight and obese adolescents.
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Courtney Byrd-Williams is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas School of Public Health. Her research interests include the socio-ecological causes and physiological consequences of the physical activity and dietary behaviors of children and adolescents.
| Doctoral Student Department of Nutrition Sciences University of Alabama at Birmingham 415 Webb Nutrition Sciences Building 1675 University Boulevard Tel: (205) 975-6226 Fax: (205) 934-7050 Email: mcardel@uab.eduu |
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Michelle Cardel is a doctoral student in Nutrition Science at University of Alabama Birmingham. Michelle's research interests are focused on behavioral predictors of child adiposity, particularly in diverse populations. She is also engaged in research that is related to weight loss in children and adolescents, as well as behavioral and psychometric predictors of weight regain in children following weight loss.
| IDOT/CPC Postdoctoral Fellow Carolina Population Center University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill CB #8120 University Square, RM 408B 123 West Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Tel: (919) 966-6784 Fax: (919) 966-9159 Email: migraff@email.unc.edu |
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Mariaelisa Graff's research focus is gene-environment interactions and metabolic risk factors. She is interested in learning how diet, physical activity and social factors interact with genotype to influence weight gain and obesity-related diseases.
| Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Nutrition Sciences University of Alabama at Birmingham WEBB 415 1530 3rd Ave S Birmingham, AL 35294 Tel: (205) 975-6226 Fax: (205) 934-7050 Email: akilah@uab.edu |
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Dr. Keita is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Keita is a medical sociologist and her research focuses on the interactions of social and biological determinants of pediatric health including obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, physical activity, diet, and stress.
| Assistant Professor - Southwest Borderlands Scholar Department of Kinesiology Center for Metabolic Biology College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation Arizona State University Tel: (602) 496-0909 Email: Gabriel.Shaibi@asu.edu |
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Gabriel Shaibi is an Assistant Professor and Southwest Borderlands Scholar at Arizona State University. His research examines cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes among high risk populations with an emphasis on community-based interventions to improve health in youth.
| PhD Candidate Nutrition Epidemiology Department of Nutrition Gillings School of Global Public Health University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Carolina Population Center 123 West Franklin St, Univ. Sq. CB #8120 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Tel: (919) 966-1499 Fax: (919) 966-9159 Email: nthe@email.unc.edu |
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Ms. Natalie The is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Division of Epidemiology of the Department of Nutrition at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. The's main research interest is (a) how weight and weight gain over the entire lifecycle influence diabetes during young adulthood and (b) how these relationships vary by race/ethnicity.
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