Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Ph.D, FACSM, FAHA
Associate Executive Director for Preventive Medicine and Healthy Aging
Louisiana Public Facilities Authority Endowed Chair
6400 Perkins Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-2536 F: 225-763-2927
Dr. Katzmarzyk is currently a Professor and the Associate Executive Director for Preventive Medicine and Healthy Aging at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He also holds the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority Endowed Chair in Nutrition. He obtained a PhD in Exercise Science from Michigan State University in 1997, and pursued post-doctoral education at Laval University in 1998. Dr. Katzmarzyk began his career at York University in Toronto where he was promoted to Associate Professor before moving to Queen's University in 2002 and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in 2007. His main research interest is the epidemiology and public health impact of obesity and physical inactivity, and determining the relationships between physical activity, physical fitness, obesity and related disorders such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, particularly in children and youth. Dr. Katzmarzyk has published his research findings in more than 275 scholarly journals and books, and regularly participates in the scientific meetings of several national and international organizations. He is currently an editorial board member for the International Journal of Obesity, International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. Dr. Katzmarzyk’s scientific advocacy efforts include the organization of an annual public health conference on childhood obesity at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and chairing the research advisory committee for the development of Louisiana’s Report Card on Physical Activity and Health for Children and Youth. Dr. Katzmarzyk was recently appointed to serve on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Science Board.
Tiago Barreira, Ph.D, CSCS
Post Doctoral Fellow - 6400 Perkins Road - Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-2935 F: 225-763-3009
Tiago Barreira earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. After finishing his undergraduate degrees, Tiago then attended Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee where he earned a Master of Science in Exercise Science in 2006 and a PhD in Human Performance with a specialization in Kinesmetrics in 2010. Tiago’s academic work focused on three main areas related to the measurement of physical activity: (1) establishing validity and reliability evidence of physical activity measurement tools (i.e., questionnaires, pedometers, accelerometers), (2) how to use physical activity measurement tools to obtain reliable and accurate information on physical activity patterns, and (3) the use of physical activity measurement tools as a motivation to promote increases in physical activity level.
In the summer of 2010, Tiago began working as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the Division of Population Science at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana under the direction of Dr. Peter T. Katzmarzyk.
Deirdre Harrington, Ph.D
Post Doctoral Fellow - 6400 Perkins Road - Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-0297 F: 225-763-3009
Deirdre Harrington was awarded an Honours Degree in Sport and Exercise Sciences in 2005 from the University of Limerick, Ireland. She then returned to complete her doctoral research in the area of "Objective Assessment and Modification of Physical Activity Levels". She was awarded her PhD in summer 2010 by the University of Limerick.
Deirdre's undergraduate dissertation focused on the physical fitness levels of 5-12 year old children. Her doctoral research expanded to adolescents and young adults and had a number of focii. The first was to investigate the validity and usability of a new physical activity assessment method in free-living situations and how the various data output can be interpreted and reported (physical activity versus sedentary). The second was to implement simple high-school based physical activity interventions for use with adolescent females. Finally, she was concerned with the use of this objective assessment method to report on physical activity and sedentary levels of various Irish populations. Dr. Harrington joins the Division of Population Science at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Fall 2010 under the direction of Dr. Peter T. Katzmarzyk.
Amanda E. Staiano, Ph.D
Post Doctoral Fellow – 6400 Perkins Road – Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-2729 F: 225-763-3009
Dr. Amanda E. Staiano earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at Georgetown University. While in graduate school, she examined how digital media such as exergames (i.e. video games that require gross motor activity) affect adolescents’ physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional health. Her dissertation demonstrated that a seven-month Nintendo Wii Active intervention produced weight loss in overweight and obese African American adolescents. She has also examined the social factors that affect adolescents’ caloric expenditure during exergame play. Dr. Staiano earned a master of public policy from Georgetown Public Policy Institute and a bachelor of science in psychology from Louisiana State University. She now joins the Division of Population Science as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, under the direction of Dr. Peter T. Katzmarzyk.
Elizabeth Gollub, Ph.D, M.P.H., R.D.
Research Associate - 6400 Perkins Road - Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-0945 F: 225-763-3009
Dr. Elizabeth Gollub has recently joined the Population Science Division of Pennington Biomedical Research Center as a program evaluator. As part of an evaluation team, her role is to develop and implement performance measures and guidelines to assist the Louisiana Tobacco Control Program with meeting or surpassing its goals and objectives for a variety of projects, partnerships, and policies aimed at promoting a Tobacco-Free Louisiana.
Dr. Gollub earned her PhD in Nutrition and Dietetics from Florida International University’s National Resource Center on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Aging. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and she is a Registered Dietician with a Certificate of Training in Adult Weight Management. Dr. Gollub has been involved in the areas of clinical nutrition, outcomes research, program development and evaluation, education, and public/community health since 1986. Her primary professional interests stem from the interrelationships among: eating habits, fitness, disease prevention/management, and quality of life.
Kara Dentro, M.P.H.
Research Associate - 6400 Perkins Road - Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-2614 F: 225-763-3009
Kara Dentro earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After finishing her undergraduate degree, Kara spent time in The United Republic of Tanzania conducting surveillance on environmental factors and disease morbidity. Then, Kara attended Boston University School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts where she earned a Master of Public Health in both the International Health and Epidemiology Programs with a special emphasis in disease control. Kara’s academic work led to an internship with Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) where she helped develop both the State of Epilepsy Research Report chronicling the current state of funding, research focus,
and human resource investment going into epilepsy research. n August of 2011, Kara began working as a Research Associate in the Division of Population Science at Pennington Biomedical Research Center under the direction of Dr. Peter T. Katzmarzyk. While at Pennington, her main project is to help in the development of Louisiana’s Report Card on Physical Activity & Health for Children and Youth, an annual project with the primary goal to assess the level of physical activity and sedentary behaviors in Louisiana children and youth, the level of facilitators and barriers of physical activity behavior, their related health outcomes, and to set goals, objectives, and specific targets for each of the indicators. Kara also assists with protocol implementation and helps ensure the integrity of clinical research projects through ongoing training and data monitoring.
Allison Tohme, M.P.H., C.P.H.
Research Associate - 6400 Perkins Road - Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-3051 F: 225-763-3009
Allison Tohme earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Louisiana Tech University in 2009 and a Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2011. While in graduate school, Allison concentrated in Health Behavior and completed an internship with the Department of Health and Hospital’s Louisiana Birth Outcomes Project. During this internship, she promoted quality improvement initiatives in Louisiana’s top birthing hospitals and created a database of behavioral health resources for pregnant women. Allison is also certified in Public Health.
In the summer of 2011, Allison joined the Division of Population Science as a Research Associate under the direction of Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk. Her role is to assist in obesity research projects and the evaluation of statewide healthy living initiatives.
Emily Mire, M.S.
Database Manager - 6400 Perkins Road - Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-2934 F: 225-763-3009
Emily Mire earned her Bachelor of Science from Loyola University New Orleans in 2004, with a major in mathematics and a minor in biology. In 2007, she received her Master of Science in Biostatistics from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. While at LSUHSC, her thesis work centered on manipulation of large datasets, namely the English Longitudinal Study of Aging and the Health and Retirement Survey, and study replication.
In the fall of 2007, Emily began working as a data manager in the Population Sciences division of Pennington Biomedical Research Center, under the direction of Dr. Peter T. Katzmarzyk. Her main role as data manager has been to develop and maintain the dataset for the Pennington Center Longitudinal Study (PCLS). The PCLS is an easily accessible cross-sectional dataset that that combines all of the various lifestyle, body composition and metabolic studies that have been conducted at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Since its establishment in 2008, this data-rich resource has been utilized by Pennington researchers for various publications, conference presentations and grant proposals which attempt to link obesity, body composition and chronic disease risk. In addition to her work with the PCLS, Emily supervises data entry personnel and assists in research projects involving large datasets such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Denise Lambert, RN
Project Manager - 6400 Perkins Road - Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-2972 F: 225-763-3009
Denise Lambert is the Project Manager for Population Science at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. As Project Manager, Denise helps coordinate the development and implementation of protocols and oversees regulatory submissions. She also assist with establishing priorities, timelines and processes for projects, monitoring budgets and project spending, ensuring integrity of clinical trial data through ongoing training, data review, process improvement and team facilitation on projects. She serves as liaison with fiscal operations and sponsored projects.
Denese Ashbaugh Vlosky, PhD
Research Associate - 6400 Perkins Road - Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-2811 F: 225-763-3009
Denese Ashbaugh Vlosky, PhD: Denese Ashbaugh Vlosky is a Research Associate in the Preventative Medicine and Healthy Aging Department at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Denese earned her MS and PhD in Human Ecology/Family Sciences with an emphasis in Aging, in Baton Rouge, LA, in 2003. Thereafter, she was the recipient of National Institute on Aging (NIA)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Duke University, Center for Demographic Studies (CDS) in Aging, in Durham, NC under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth L. Land. Denese’s role at Pennington is focused on providing external evaluation for recipients of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation’s Challenge Grant for a Healthier Louisiana grant program. Her evaluation work focuses on six collaborative multi-level projects throughout the state of Louisiana, which strive to create policy, environmental, community and programmatic changes to prevent obesity through an increase in healthy eating and physical activity. Before joining Pennington, Denese evaluated social work, education, aging, and healthcare programs for public and private employers, in both domestic and international settings. She is a quantitative and qualitative social science researcher, with personal and professional experience/interest in novel community development approaches for underserved populations. Her PhD was an evaluation of a Social Sector Participatory Development project in Honduras. She has a BA in Spanish.
Dodie Arnold, PhD
Research Associate - 6400 Perkins Road - Baton Rouge, LA 70808
T: 225-763-2829 F: 225-763-3009
DodieArnold, PhD is a Research Associate in the Population Science Department at Pennington Biomedical
Res
earch Center (PBRC). She serves as the External Evaluator for the Louisiana Tobacco Control Program and the Chronic Disease Prevention Unit of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Dr. Arnold’s work focuses on programs and projects which strive to: (1) create tobacco-free healthcare facilities, (2) prevent youth from initiating tobacco use, (3) eliminate secondhand smoke exposure, (4) promote quitting among youth and adults, (5) eliminate tobacco related disparities, and (6) eliminate smoking in pregnant women.
Prior to joining PBRC, Dr. Arnold was a Quality Improvement/Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor with the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) and the Global Health Department at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Her work at I-TECH focused on improving HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis services in Ethiopia and Tanzania through: (1) mentoring, capacity building and technical assistance, (2) strategic planning (development of comprehensive annual work plans), (3) designing and supporting clinical and programmatic operational research projects, (4) providing evaluation support and leadership and (5) leveraging technology, facilitating roll out and scale up of new software to track key outcome indicators and trainings.
Dr. Arnold received her PhD from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. As a National Institutes of Health Reproductive, Perinatal, & Pediatric Epidemiology (RPPE) Pre-Doctoral Fellow, her dissertation work focused on maternal nutrition and endocrine and cardiovascular dysfunction (specifically, early maternal vitamin D concentrations and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus and preeclampsia) as well as maternal mood and anxiety disorders. Dr. Arnold’s work was supported by the Micki and Bob Flowers Endowed Fellowship from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientist Foundation.