Overview
I am an implementation scientist with expertise in mixed methods and community-engaged research. My research focuses on improve implementation of federal policies that increase access to nutritious foods and physical activity for children facing social and economic disadvantages.
My research centers around 3 primary focus areas:
(1) optimizing implementation of evidence-based healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices in child-serving settings (mostly schools);
(2) studying implementation flexibilities of federal child nutrition assistance policies during COVID-19
(3) engaging children and adolescents as active participants in implementation research, including developing and testing pragmatic, age-appropriate evaluation metrics;
The ultimate goal of my research is to develop and disseminate strategies that improve health-promoting policy implementation in under-resourced community settings and, ultimately, reduce pediatric health inequities.
My methods expertise is broadly applicable across child and adolescent health outcomes and community settings. This expertise includes: implementation and dissemination methods, stakeholder-driven research, youth participatory research methods, mixed methods evaluation, pragmatic measures development (including rapid qualitative data collection and analysis), organizational capacity-building, theory-based program development, policy implementation.
Areas of Expertise: Implementation Science, Health Behavior, and Health Management
My research centers around 3 primary focus areas:
(1) optimizing implementation of evidence-based healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices in child-serving settings (mostly schools);
(2) studying implementation flexibilities of federal child nutrition assistance policies during COVID-19
(3) engaging children and adolescents as active participants in implementation research, including developing and testing pragmatic, age-appropriate evaluation metrics;
The ultimate goal of my research is to develop and disseminate strategies that improve health-promoting policy implementation in under-resourced community settings and, ultimately, reduce pediatric health inequities.
My methods expertise is broadly applicable across child and adolescent health outcomes and community settings. This expertise includes: implementation and dissemination methods, stakeholder-driven research, youth participatory research methods, mixed methods evaluation, pragmatic measures development (including rapid qualitative data collection and analysis), organizational capacity-building, theory-based program development, policy implementation.
Areas of Expertise: Implementation Science, Health Behavior, and Health Management
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Assistant Professor in Population Health Sciences
·
2023 - Present
Population Health Sciences,
Basic Science Departments
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
·
2024 - Present
Pediatrics, General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health,
Pediatrics
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
·
2022 - Present
Duke Cancer Institute,
Institutes and Centers
Recent Scholarly Works
Identifying Contextual Barriers and Potential Solutions to Improving Hypertension Management in Rural Communities in the United States: Qualitative Study From 2 North Carolina Counties.
Journal article J Am Heart Assoc · June 16, 2026 BACKGROUND: Blood pressure-related deaths from cardiovascular disease are higher in rural than in urban areas in the Unites States, especially in southeastern states. However, the barriers and potential solutions to hypertension care are inadequately under ... Full text Link to item CiteTransforming Access to Hearing Care: Community Perspectives on School-Based Telehealth in Rural Appalachia.
Journal article Ear Hear · March 2026 OBJECTIVES: School-based hearing screening serves as a critical resource for children in rural areas to be screened and connected to hearing healthcare. Telemedicine interventions in schools have shown promise in connecting children to providers; however, ... Full text Link to item Cite"It's Just Our New Norm": A Qualitative Analysis of COVID-19 Pandemic Stressors and Protective Factors Among Caregivers of School-Aged Children.
Journal article Am J Health Promot · March 2026 PurposeTo understand general COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors among caregivers of children ages 3-15, and describe institutional, interpersonal, and personal protective factors used to cope with pandemic-related stress.DesignSemi-structured, in-depth in ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Hospital-to-Home Care Coordination for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
Clinical TrialCo Investigator · Awarded by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute · 2024 - 2030Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Using PrEP Doing it for Ourselves Protective Styles: A Multilevel Intervention to Improve HIV Testing and PrEP Uptake among Southeastern US at-risk populations
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2030Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education Systems (Project SCALES)
Public ServicePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Boise State University · 2023 - 2028View All Grants
Education
Virginia Polytech Institute and State University ·
2016
Ph.D.