Affiliation(s):

• Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Wayne State University

Type 2 diabetes is a major public health problem that presents a tremendous burden on the financial resources of low-income individuals with diabetes, as well as on the health care system.  Our work addresses barriers to participation in preventive health programing for marginalized members of the community, with a goal of improving population and individual health.  Our current work adapts an established, intensive diabetes prevention program to identify and address barriers to success.  This program is known to effectively reduce diabetes risk, but historically it struggles to engage participants in low-income communities.  Our work adapts this program with an eye toward improving engagement by: training peers from the community to be lifestyle coaches; providing hands-on practical, food management skills training; and, training community health workers to connect program participants to existing and available resources, providing access to an essential safety net. Our hypothesis, supported by a completed pilot study, is that this approach will substantially improve engagement and program completion, and health. Our overriding goal is to improve engagement and health, while also addressing food security.  One unique aspect of this work is the involvement of non-traditional community partners in executing this work, including food banks, community centers, senior centers, and grocery stores.  Even the best programming is ineffective if poorly attended, and we aim to address that by providing strong, sustainable social support in community health programming that would be applicable to any community programing in low-income, underserved neighborhoods.

That is a convoluted story.  I decided (with 1 and 3-year olds at home) to pursue a doctorate in nutrition.  The work my PhD advisor was doing at the time was DNA repair work.  We studied mechanisms of DNA repair that might be involved in aging, and in repairing DNA damage induced by dietary factors (caloric restriction and folate deficiency).  As I became an independent scientist I followed this pathway.  I maintained an active research lab in DNA repair for 14 years, and then made a dramatic change in research direction.  The research described above came about as several factors converged: I became increasingly interested in how to approach rising obesity and diabetes incidences in urban centers; I began developing relationships with community partners through a push to get our undergraduate students involved in the community; and, our Department needed to develop a research presence in Detroit.

Diabetes and obesity are epidemics that burden our communities and the health care system.  We have a lot of knowledge about the kinds of dietary and lifestyle changes that can improve health and reduce both obesity and diabetes risk.  These have the potential to be effective tools, and can be successfully utilized to improve individual and community health.  But if barriers to participation prevent the ability to access these tools, the problems remain untouched.  I am very interested in a grassroots approach to identifying barriers, and seeking solutions to the problems around access to preventive health care as well as access to healthful, affordable food.

Oh, there are so many.  Let me choose two, one with connections to my field and one outside.

I cannot name just one person.  But the short list would include important scientists who have the capability to see what nobody else has yet seen or understood.  Those who authentically observe and assimilate information into meaningful, paradigm-changing science.

Time with family. Wander outside, talk to strangers.  Run.  Bike.  Swim.  Kayak.  Paddleboard. Any way to be in or on the water.  Walk.  Dogs. Reading.  Cooking.  Time with friends (oh how I’ve missed that this past year and a half).  I love to try new things.