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College of Health
Contact info for journalists seeking expert sources for stories.
Media contact
The College of Health works closely with OSU News & Communications.
Journalists seeking expert sources for stories should contact Steve Lundeberg at 541-737-4039 or [email protected].
College news and features
Faculty and students contribute to our knowledge and understanding of public health and the human sciences. Engaged scholars, they bring recognition and awareness that create healthier people and communities. Read about their impact in Synergies.
Expert directory for the media
World-leading researchers study people across their lives and address current and emerging public health and societal challenges. They bring expertise in:
- Health systems reform and health policy
- Healthy developmental processes and transitions across the lifespan
- Impact of environmental and occupational hazards on human health
- Optimal health through nutrition and physical activity
- Predictors and consequences of chronic diseases and the promotion of healthy behaviors
Find researchers within these broad topics.
Use the drop-down to select one of the college's signature areas of research to see faculty primarily associated in that area. Due to our interdisciplinary tenancies, many faculty could belong to multiple categories, but we have limited everyone to only one primary area for their research foci.
- Adolescent development
- Youth programs
- Program evaluation
Positive youth development in applied settings with a focus on youth programs as developmental contexts that support thriving.
- Genetic association study
- Big data analysis
- Analysis of correlated data
- Survey data
Harold’s research is focused on statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology. His primary research goal is to understand the genetic architecture of human extreme longevity and sub-phenotypes of longevity and to develop advanced statistical… see full profile
- Health economics
- Health policy
- Health politics
General research interests include the labor market effects of physical and mental health status, the relationship between place and obesity, the causes of hunger and food insecurity and the effect of poverty and rural location on health.
- Epidemiology
- Health impact of climate change
- Disaster preparedness
- Infectious diseases
My research focuses on building adaptive capacity to address the health impacts of infectious disease outbreaks and natural hazards, particularly among vulnerable populations. Specifically, I examine how the distribution and determinants of vector-… see full profile
- Epidemiology
- Maternity care
- Midwifery
- Physical activity during pregnancy / postpartum
- Doulas / traditional health workers
My research focuses on US maternity care, particularly midwifery and community birth for low-risk women. I am also interested in physical activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and potential effects on maternal outcomes.
- environmental exposures
- air pollution
- health outcomes
- cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases
Matt Bozigar is an environmental epidemiologist with a multidisciplinary background. He studies multiple adverse environmental exposures (e.g., noise, air pollution, aeroallergens, radon) and health outcomes (e.g., asthma, cancer, cardiometabolic… see full profile
- Bayesian statistics
- Diagnostic tests
- Epidemiology
Bayesian nonparametric and semiparametric modeling, medical test evaluation, bone health, kidney disease
- Program and policy evaluation
- Tobacco prevention and control
- Design of health interventions
- Adolescent health
Marc's research interests include adolescent health; health promotion theory and health interventions; smoking prevention and control; tobacco policy; program evaluation design and analysis; and design and delivery of community programs.
- Nutrition and diet
- Antioxidants and gene expressions
- Diabetes
Evaluation of alternative protein sources, such as ocean-based underutilized discarded fish (by-catch), as a feasible, environmentally sustainable protein supplement to combat childhood malnutrition globally. Antioxidants and free radical metabolism… see full profile
- Food insecurity
- Poverty
- Health disparities
- Well-being of immigrants
Doris' research — which is at the intersection of human development, family science, and public health — is focused on issues such as food insecurity, poverty, health disparities, and the well-being of immigrants.
- Sport and exercise psychology
- Sociology of sport
- Kinesiology
- Physical activity education
Not accepting PhD or MS students Psycho-social and socio-cultural aspects of health and physical activity.
- Work-family interactions
- Working parents
- Family processes
- Family policies
- Family well-being
Kelly applies a work-family justice lens to understand the diversity of lived experiences of adults at work, at home, and in their work-family integration. She studies how job conditions, workplace culture, and work-family policies affect the health… see full profile
- Health system finance
- International development
- Universal health care
- Governance of health systems
- Equity in health care
Equitable and sustainable health development for low-income nations; health systems finance; national health care systems and universal health care; evaluating equity and efficiency (extra-welfarism) in health care services and system finance;… see full profile
- Biomechanics
- Sports Injury
- Balance and gait analysis
- Chronic and overuse Injury
- Ankle instability
Cathy’s research focuses on postural stability and human motion deficits in the physically active with lower extremity joint instability and chronic injuries. She works to determine mechanisms for injury and biomechanical characteristics that can… see full profile
- Milk
- Peptide
- Protein
- Bioactive
- Mass spectrometry
The overall aim of my research is to identify novel, evolutionarily relevant bioactive compounds in human and bovine milk and the extent to which they survive throughout the digestive system. In particular, I am interested in bioactive milk… see full profile
- Implementation science
- Health disparities
- Youth
- Sexually transmitted infections
- Evidence-based interventions
Dr. Dolcini’s research program addresses basic, intervention, and implementation science issues in public health, with a strong focus on health disparities and on youth. Her primary area of expertise is in infectious diseases, including HIV and… see full profile
- Global health disparities
- HIV prevention
- HCV treatment access
- Social isolation
- Qualitative research
Jonathan Garcia uses participatory methods to develop public health interventions and advance health equity at the intersection of sexuality, gender, and race. His domestic and global work has focused on devising community-led approaches for social… see full profile
- Positive youth development
- Self-regulation
- International research
- Measurement
- Quantitative methods
My research focuses on the development of self-regulation across the lifespan and the relationship between intentional self-regulation and positive developmental outcomes (especially Positive Youth Development). Because of the contextualized nature… see full profile
- Mixed methods
- Reproductive health
- Cancer survivorship
- Health communication
- Community-engaged research
Dr. Gorman leads a robust community-engaged research program that integrates qualitative and quantitative methodologies to investigate multi-level factors contributing to healthcare experiences and quality of life outcomes, with a substantial focus… see full profile
- Promotion of physical activity
- Obesity prevention
- Skeletal health
- Community-based research
My current research and practice efforts focus on developing and evaluating physical activity promotion strategies. Most of my work involves partnering with organizations such as Cooperative Extension, state agencies, or community groups to expand,… see full profile
- Sexual and reproductive health
- Young adults
- Health policy and reform
- Mixed methods
Marie is a public health researcher with 35 years of experience conducting research focused on the behavioral, contextual, and policy aspects of unintended pregnancy, sexual behavior, and abortion among diverse populations of young adults. The goal… see full profile
- Early childhood education
- Teacher-child relationships
- Research to practice / policy
- Child stress and behavior
- Professional development for teachers
Bridget is interested in teacher- and parent-child relationships in early childhood, children’s stress and school readiness skills, quality of early childhood education, teacher professional development, & implications for policy.
- Nutrition and cancer
- Nutrient-gene interactions
- Phytochemicals
- Zinc
- Inflammation
Research interests are in the area of antioxidants and gene expression and dietary chemoprevention strategies. I am currently interested in understanding the role of the antioxidant nutrients such as zinc in maintaining DNA integrity and cancer… see full profile
- Sport injury prevention
- Human sensory and motor systems
- Neuroscience
Understanding and improving factors influencing the health, wellness, and safety of wildland firefighters. More specifically, this work is currently focused on the medical services provided to wildland fire personnel working on large scale… see full profile
- Quality, access, and cost of healthcare
- Care coordination
- Veterans health
- Health data science
- Implementation science
Innovative approaches to improve health care quality, access, and costs, with special interest in health and healthcare of US Veterans. Database and informatics methods to support research and evaluation of healthcare interventions and programs.
- Environmental epidemiology
- Spatial health
- Air pollution
- Built environment
- Climate change
I lead the Spatial Health Lab at OSU that examines the connections between place and human health and well-being. My research focuses broadly on environmental exposure assessment and epidemiology – with applications to air pollution, healthy built… see full profile
- Behavior change strategies
- Program implementation and evaluation
- Transparency in science and medical reporting
- Health literacy and patient navigation
- Risk perception and cancer
Dr. Irvin’s experience spans more than 15 years and she uses a community-engaged approach to develop, implement and evaluate behavior change programs across a comprehensive list of health priorities (e.g., smoking, nutrition, physical activity,… see full profile
- Bone health
- Energy metabolism
- Alcohol
- Spaceflight
- Osteommunology
Current research foci include: 1) Neuroendocrine regulation of body weight and bone metabolism. 2) Nutrition as a factor in tumor metastasis to bone. 3) Regulation of stromal (stem) cell differentiation into bone cells and fat cells.
- Social emotional wellbeing
- Rural populations and places
- Participatory research
- Community mapping
- Mixed methods
My research integrates psychosocial and behavioral kinesiology with environmental public health sciences, particularly studying healthy lifestyle behaviors and health equity in diverse populations in relationship to place-based contexts where they… see full profile
- Injury prevention
- Rehabilitation of athletic injuries
- Nervous system and movement
Understanding how the nervous system controls and coordinates movement; Development of strategies in prevention and rehabilitation of athletic injuries and other pathologies. Increasing implementation of best practice guidelines for injury… see full profile
- Molecular and biochemical nutrition
- Dietary fat
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids
- Diabetes & obesity
- Fatty liver disease
My colleagues and I, in the Molecular Nutrition and Diabetes Research lab, investigate the molecular and metabolic basis of complications associated with obesity and diabetes. Our current focus is on the role diet plays in the onset and progression… see full profile
- Global health
- Community-based participatory research methods
- Sexual and reproductive health in youth
- South Asia and Botswana
Sunil is internationally known for his research in the field of global health. He has worked on examining how inclusive, participatory, empowering, and sustainable strategies to engage communities in Botswana and India can lead to decolonization of… see full profile
- Environmental epidemiology
- Chemical exposures
- Risk assessment
- Community-based research
- Children
I am an environmental epidemiologist focused on understanding the health impacts related to early life exposure to chemical contaminants. I am also interested in identifying social and host factors (e.g. genetics, epigenetics, and microbiome) that… see full profile
- Occupational biomechanics
- Ergonomics
- Exoskeletons
- Whole-body vibration
- Human-computer interactions
- Injury prevention
Jay's major research interests are occupational ergonomics and biomechanics. He is particularly interested in developing and evaluating evidence-based interventions to reduce physical exposures to reduce occupational injuries and illness and… see full profile
- Health care delivery systems
- Aging
- End-of-life care
- Serious illness care
- Racial disparities in healthcare
Health care system reforms; alternative payment and delivery models for persons with serious illnesses; end-of-life discussions and end-of-life care delivery; palliative and hospice care; health outcome studies; policy evaluation; integration of… see full profile
- Occupational safety
- Ergonomics
- Physical agents
- Injury prevention
Laurel's research focuses on quantifying, communicating, and controlling occupational and environmental exposures to health and safety hazards with the goal to reduce adverse health outcomes. She is the Principal or co-Investigator on several NIH… see full profile
- Child Welfare and Child Well-Being Systems and Policies
- Mental and Behavioral Health of Youth
- Youth’s Relationships with Caring and Caregiving Adults
Brianne's research interests involve better understanding resilience-promoting factors and developing interventions that improve well-being for children, youth and families. She teaches courses in child and adolescent development, family studies,… see full profile
- Innovative tech to study environment's health impact
- Methods to assess environmental exposure for health
- Interface design affects on risk perception and communication
Andy Larkin is an Assistant Research Professor in the Spatial Health Lab within the College of Health. His research focuses on the intersections of environmental epidemiology with new technologies and big data, including developing smartphone… see full profile
- Cost-effectiveness analysis
- Patient-centered care
- Innovative health care delivery and financing
- Health insurance and health outcomes
The overall goal of Dr. Li’s research is to improve the cost-effectiveness of health care through interdisciplinary and patient-centric mechanisms. His research expertise focuses on implementing economic evaluation methods to advance value-based… see full profile
- Young children and families
- Program evaluation
- Early learning
- Resilience
Shannon conducts research to identify effective ways of building resilience among young children and families facing adversity. Key areas of focus include: (1) the role of early childhood education in the lives of children involved in child welfare… see full profile
- Young children
- Disability
- Mobility
- Assistive technology
- Play and social behaviors
Accepting PhD students Not accepting MS students Sam's research agenda focuses on the health and well-being of typically developing children and children with disabilities, with recent work emphasizing the role of independent mobility in the… see full profile
- Health policy and reform
- Health care delivery systems
- Policy analysis
- Quality of care
Jeff Luck's research focuses on performance of health care delivery systems and public health agencies, population health data for management and policy analysis, measuring and improving the quality of care, and implementation of new management… see full profile
- Adapted Physical Activity
- Children with disabilities
- Early childhood
Movement and physical activity are essential components in a healthy lifestyle for individuals at any age and ability. My research interests are related to how motor skills and physically active lifestyles improve the lives of children and youth… see full profile
- Rural families
- Community effects
- Poverty
- Youth development
- Housing
Kate's research centers on examining how small towns and rural places function for the children and families who call them home. Since 1997, she has been examining contextual factors that shape developmental pathways for children and youth in the… see full profile
- School recess
- Sport-based youth development
- Social and emotional health
Dr. Massey’s line of research focuses on the intersection of play, physical activity, and child development. His current line of research is dedicated to understanding how recess quality impacts healthy development in elementary school-aged children… see full profile
- Child development
- Self-regulation
- School readiness
- Executive function
- Translation and dissemination
My research is broadly focused on optimizing children's development, especially as it relates to social and cognitive development and school success. In general, I am interested in the importance of children's self-regulation, executive function,… see full profile
- Cancer health disparities
- Latino health
- Cancer screening
- Intervention development
Dr. Mojica conducts health services research and program evaluation in cancer prevention and control among ethnic minority and underserved populations, particularly Latinos. Her research engages community-based organizations, health centers, and… see full profile
- Environmental health modeling
- Bayesian methods
- Data science
- Multi-level modeling
Bayesian methods, latent variable modeling, measurement error models, spatial modeling, genetic epidemiology, and Markov Chain Monte Carol estimation methods
- Place-based health promotion
- Tobacco prevention
- Healthy eating
- Dissemination and implementation
- Health policy
Health promotion/health behavior; health systems and policy; community engagement; behavioral health; health system and co extension partnerships.
- Skeletal muscle metabolism
- Obesity and type 2 diabetes
- Physical activity and exercise
- Insulin sensitivity
Obesity increases risk for numerous metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, and even certain forms of cancer. Much of this increased risk is mediated by a resistance to the normal actions of insulin (i.e. insulin resistance), and related… see full profile
- ACL injury
- Sports injury prevention
- Biomechanics
- Sports medicine
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, which often occurs during cutting or landing from a jump, negatively impacts physical activity both acutely and across the lifespan due to early-onset osteoarthritis. However, the precise mechanism of injury… see full profile
- Biomechanics
- Fall prevention
- Exercise and osteoporosis
- Older adults
- People with disabilities
Accepting both PhD and MS students Clinical and ergonomic applications of biomechanics to older adults and people with disabilities. Research aimed at preventing falls and fractures is examining factors that affect a person’s ability to recover… see full profile
- Human performance
- Exercise physiology
- Exercise testing
Not accepting PhD or MS students My research centers on problems of human performance, both in athletics and activities of daily living. I am particularly interested in improving field tests of human performance so that criterion measures can be… see full profile
- Neuromuscular coordination patterns
- Proprioception and virtual reality applications to human performance
- Successful aging and injury prevention
Hamstring preactivation in jump landings, shoulder proprioception, lower extremity neuromuscular coordination in jump landings.
- Adapted Physical Activity
- Intellectual Disabilities
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Motor Development
- Obesity
Andrew's research focuses on the physical activity, physical fitness, motor behavior, and health of individuals with developmental disabilities across the lifespan. He works to systematically examine health disparities and then identify, design and… see full profile
- Injury prevention
- Lower extremity injuries
- Rehabilitation programs
Not accepting PhD or MS students Christine's research is dedicated to improving the scientific understanding of lower extremity injuries, and advancing injury-prevention and rehabilitation programs based on this knowledge. Her research is primarily… see full profile
- Child care policy
- Early learning
Megan Pratt's work focuses on understanding early learning at local, state, and national levels, with an emphasis on evaluating potential variation in experiences across communities and populations. She investigates child care and early learning… see full profile
- Health
- Education
- Technology
- Media
Dr. Primack combines his expertise in education, technology, human development, and medicine by researching both positive and negative effects of media messages on health. He is a pioneer on the use of media literacy education in preventing… see full profile
- Access to care
- Vulnerable populations
- Health insurance
- Health policy
Differences in access to care and health outcomes based on social standing.
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Aging
- Muscle
- Exercise
Understanding mitochondrial protein turnover and respiration during pathophysiology of Type 2 Diabetes and related metabolic disorders. Accepting PhD students Not accepting MS students
- Research translation
- Indigenous health
- Disaster research
- Environmental health literacy
Dr. Rohlman is an Associate Professor, Senior Researcher who is studying the role of environmental health literacy in helping communities better frame and respond to environmental health hazards. In a project with the Swinomish Indian Tribal… see full profile
- Methylmercury
- Metals
- Maternal-child health
- Environmental exposure
- Microbiome
Dr. Rothenberg's research uses a multidisciplinary framework, including environmental monitoring, risk assessment, and epidemiologic studies, to fully understand the dynamics of mercury cycling and methylmercury exposure. She also investigates… see full profile
- Poverty
- Families
- Family policy
- Rural
- Inequality
My broad research interests include poverty, families, and social policy. In this work I aim to understand the mechanisms driving social and economic inequalities. I am currently researching child poverty across countries and over time, poverty… see full profile
- Tobacco
- E-cigarettes / Vapes
- Health disparities
- Mixed methods
- Youth and young adults
Research focuses on race/ethnic disparities, particularly as it relates to tobacco use, including new and emerging products and other substances. Other areas of interest and experience are in co-parenting, sibling, obesity prevention, and substance… see full profile
- Measurement of physical activity
- Sedentary behavior
- Automated technology
- Behavior epidemiology
Not accepting PhD or MS students Dr. Schuna is a physical activity assessment, epidemiology, and intervention scientist seeking to expand our understanding of physical activity’s health benefits and its associations with other health parameters (e.… see full profile
- Personality
- Self-regulation
- Health
My research primarily addresses the interactions among psychological, cognitive, immunological, and physical health in older adults. For example, how does personality affect risk for Alzheimer’s disease? How do psychosocial resources affect… see full profile
- Life course and aging
- Life transitions
- Generations
- Young adults
- Family / social policy
The life course; age and aging; transitions; social relationships; historical experiences and social change; parenthood and family life; social policy.
- Nutritional epidemiology
- Chronic disease and HIV infection
- Health disparities
- Public health surveillance methods
Dr. Smit is a nutritional epidemiologist. Her research is focused on diet, metabolism, and physical activity in relation to both chronic disease and HIV infection in diverse populations. Studies include cohort designs, multi-center studies, survey… see full profile
- Cancer epidemiology
- Nutrition
- Molecular epidemiology
- Middle-aged and older adults
- Systematic review and meta-analysis
Dr. Takata is a nutritional epidemiologist and her research focuses on the etiological roles of nutritional factors in cancer and chronic disease.
Marilyn's research focuses both on the advancement and application of quantitative methods for analyzing data in the social sciences and on children's academic and socioemotional development. Much of her methodological research has focused on… see full profile
- Parenting
- Early childhood
- Mental health
- Self-regulation
- Professional development
My research focuses broadly on social and emotional learning (SEL) for children, youth, and adults. As a former practitioner and family services professional, I blend practical experience with research to develop and test programs focused on the… see full profile
- Antioxidants
- Lipoprotein metabolism
- Metabolic syndrome
- Vitamin E deficiency
- Vaping
Dr. Maret Traber is considered one of the world’s experts on vitamin E. Her research efforts are focused on the physiological properties of vitamin E, especially human vitamin E kinetics and the factors that modulate human vitamin E requirements,… see full profile
- Life-long skeletal health
- Exercise and nutrition
- Prevention
- Gravitational physiology
- Etiology
My research focuses on gravitational physiology, etiology and treatment of osteoporosis, osteoimmunology, and renal osteodystrophy. The most common reason why we seek medical attention is that something is wrong with our skeleton. Healthy muscle,… see full profile
- Occupational safety
- Safety business case
- Safety strategy
- Safety management
Research interests are related to strategic management and economic aspects of the environmental, safety and health function within private and public sector firms. Safety and environmental health management, financial and economic justification,… see full profile
- Assessment in physical education
- Physical activity and learning
- Inclusive physical education
Assessment in physical education, mentoring student teachers, and the effects of physical activity on learning. Not accepting PhD or MS students
- Health promotion
- Exercise psychology
- Physical activity for postpartum women
Not accepting PhD or MS students Dr. Woekel’s research and teaching interests focus on psychosocial aspects for promoting healthy behavior change in physical activity, nutrition, and mental health. She emphasizes practical strategies to… see full profile
- Nutrition education
- Childhood obesity prevention
- Dietary assessment methods
- Learning games
- Innovation skill building
Siew Sun earned her doctorate degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences with an emphasis on Community Nutrition and Epidemiology at Utah State University. Her research areas are obesity prevention and youth calcium consumption. Her interests include… see full profile