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 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 Publications
Teams, Partners, or Champions? A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Potential Pathways of Implementation Success for Wellness Initiatives in Schools Using the Quality Implementation Framework.
Journal Article J Acad Nutr Diet · March 7, 2025 BACKGROUND: Local wellness policies (LWPs) promote healthy eating and physical activity practices in US schools. Achieving and sustaining quality implementation of LWPs is challenging, particularly in urban and rural schools which may lack implementation r ... Full text Link to item CiteRecommendations for interdisciplinary research collaboration for early career dissemination and implementation researchers: A multi-phase study.
Journal Article J Clin Transl Sci · 2025 INTRODUCTION: Dissemination and implementation (D&I) scientists are key members of collaborative, interdisciplinary clinical and translational research teams. Yet, early career D&I researchers (ECRs) have few guidelines for cultivating productive research ... Full text Link to item CitePhysical Activity, Confidence, and Social Norms Associated With Teachers' Classroom Physical Activity Break Implementation.
Journal Article Health Promot Pract · May 2024 Despite the benefits of classroom physical activity breaks on student health and academic outcomes, more research is needed to understand what factors may be associated with classroom physical activity break implementation, to bolster buy-in from school st ... 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 [UPDOs] Protective Styles: A salon-based intervention to improve PrEP uptake among Black cis-gender women."
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education Systems (Project SCALES)
Public ServicePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Boise State University · 2023 - 2028View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
Virginia Polytech Institute and State University ·
2016
Ph.D.