Research Interests
Place-based health disparities; Youth physical activity, fitness, and obesity; Transportation equity; Reducing youth health disparities; Park-based programs; Promoting youth resilience; Collaborating with community organizations to promote youth health; Epidemiology education.
Selected Grants
You and Me Healthy: Testing Protocol
ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2025RADx-UP CDCC
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2020 - 2025Parks & Pediatrics Fit Together: Translating knowledge into action for child obesity treatment in partnership with Parks and Recreation
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2020 - 2025Addressing disparities to improve childhood obesity treatment
ResearchCo-Mentor · Awarded by American Heart Association · 2022 - 2025Fellowships, Gifts, and Supported Research
Youth Engagement in Sports ·
2019
- 2021
PI ·
Awarded by: CPIMP191183-01-00, US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health
· $198,902.00
This school-based intervention aims to promote youth engagement in sports among under-resourced minority girls. The study will use case-crossover design to examine the effects of school-based physical activity programming over one semester compared with the standard physical education curriculum
Youth Development Award ·
2018
- 2023
PI ·
Awarded by: RFP 2018-02 Youth Development, The Children’s Trust, Miami-Dade County, FL
· $1,822,170.00
This program provides at-risk adolescents, ages 15-17 years, with a park-based violence prevention and resilience promotion paid internship program, mentorship, and emotion regulation/problem solving/communication/life skills workshops daily afterschool. The study is examining the longitudinal effects of the program on individual youth mental health and resilience, and community impacts on perceptions of neighborhood safety and juvenile crime.
Fit2Lead Youth Enrichment and Sports Program ·
2016
PI ·
Awarded by: Miami-Dade County, FL
· $3,000,000.00
This ongoing program provides at-risk adolescents, ages 12-15 years, with a violence prevention and resilience promotion free afterschool program at local community parks. Youth are provided with daily academic support, sports and recreation, mentorship, and emotion regulation/problem solving/ communication/life skills workshops daily afterschool. The study is examining the longitudinal effects of the program on individual youth mental health and resilience, and community impacts on perceptions of neighborhood safety and juvenile crime.
External Relationships
- Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
- Syra Health
This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.