HEALTH DISPARITIES WORK GROUP
Faculty Profiles
HDWG site: www.sphresearch.umn.edu/hdwg
Dr. Susan Everson-Rose, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Susan Everson-Rose, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Associate Professor in the Department of
Medicine, Associate Director of the Program in Health Disparities Research, and Director of the
Research Core of the Center for Health Equity at the University of Minnesota. Her background
and training are in cardiovascular psychophysiology, behavioral medicine, stress, mechanisms
of disease, neuropsychology, and cardiovascular and social epidemiology.
Her particular expertise is in studying the influence of psychosocial stressors on cardiovascular
disease (CVD) risk, including stroke and diabetes, and exploring biobehavioral and physiological
mechanisms that underlie these associations. Within this context, her research explores whether
knowledge of psychosocial risk factors helps us to better understand health disparities and adds
to the knowledge base to work toward eliminating disparities in cardiovascular diseases and related health conditions.
She has nearly 20 years of experience as an NIH-funded investigator, including on several large epidemiologic
studies, e.g., the Alameda County Study, the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, the Study of
Women’s Health Across the Nation, and the Chicago Health and Aging Project. Currently, her work is funded by the
NIH, including the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institutes on Aging. In 2010, she was
recipient of the University of Minnesota’s Thorne and Sweeney Stroke Award, an award given annually to a faculty
member for excellence in stroke research.
Selected Publications
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Khan U, Wang D, Sowers MFR, Mancuso P, Everson-Rose SA, Scherer PE, Wildman RP. Race-
ethnic differences in adipokine levels: The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Metabolism:
Clinical & Experimental 2012;61:1261-9.
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Clark CJ, Henderson KM, Mendes de Leon CF, Guo H, Lunos S, Evans DA, Everson-Rose SA.
Psychosocial factors associated with CVD: an examination of clustering by race and sex. Frontiers in Psychiatry
2012;3:5 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00005
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Mair C, Kaplan GA, Everson-Rose SA. Are there hopeless neighborhoods? An exploration of
environmental associations between individual-level feelings of hopelessness and neighborhood characteristics.
Health & Place 2012;18:434-439.
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Lewis TT, Guo H, Lunos S, Mendes de Leon CF, Skarupski K, Evans DA, Everson-Rose SA.
Depressive symptoms and cardiovascular mortality in older African-American and white adults: Evidence for a
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differential association by race. Circulation: Cardiovascular and Quality Outcomes 2011;4:293-9. PMCID:
PMC3097274
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Everson-Rose SA, Skarupski KA, Barnes LL, Beck T, Evans DA, Mendes de Leon CF.
Neighborhood socioeconomic conditions are associated with psychosocial functioning in older African American
and Caucasian adults. Health & Place 2011;17:793-800. PMCID: PMC3092820
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Janssen I, Powell LH, Matthews KA, Cursio J, Hollenberg S, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Everson-Rose SA.
Depressive symptoms are related to progression of coronary calcium in midlife women: the Study of Women’s
Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Heart Study. American Heart Journal 2011;161:1186-1191.e1. PMCID:
PMC3140211
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Everson-Rose SA, Paudel M, Taylor B, Dam T, Cawthon PM, LeBlanc E, Strotmeyer ES, Cauley J,
Stefanick M, Barrett-Connor E, Ensrud KE. Metabolic syndrome and physical performance in elderly men: The
Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2011;59:1376-1384.
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Clark CJ, Guo H, Lunos S, Aggarwal NT, Evans DA, Mendes de Leon CF, Everson-Rose SA.
Neighborhood cohesion is associated with reduced risk of stroke mortality. Stroke 2011;42:1212-7. PMCID:
PMC3102433.
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Dugan SA, Everson-Rose SA, Karavolos K, Avery E, Wesley D, Powell LH. Physical activity and
reduced intra-abdominal fat in midlife African-American and white women. Obesity 2010;18:1260-5. PMCID:
PMC3139333
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Everson-Rose SA, Lewis TT, Karavolos K, Dugan SA, Wesley D, Powell LH. Depressive
symptoms and increased visceral fat in Caucasian and African-American women at mid-life. Psychosomatic
Medicine2009;71:410-416. PMCID: PMC2739059
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Whipple MO, Lewis TT, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Matthews KA, Barinas-Mitchell E, Powell LH, Everson-
Rose SA. Hopelessness, depressive symptoms and carotid atherosclerosis in women: the Study of Women’s
Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Heart Study. Stroke 2009;40:3166-72. PMCID: PMC2762349
Kolawole S. Okuyemi, MD, MPH
Dr. Okuyemi is a professor of Family Medicine and Community Health and director for the
Program in Health Disparities Research at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He is
director of Cancer Health Disparities for the Masonic Cancer Center, an NCI-designated
Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota.
He received his medical degree from University of Ilorin, Nigeria, completed a family medicine
residency and Master of Public Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas
City, Kansas (USA), and a public health research fellowship at the Morehouse School of
Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia (USA).
Dr. Okuyemi received the 2011 Researcher of the Year Award from the Minnesota Academy of Family Physician. He
was also recognized as among the top 5 NIH-funded researchers in 2010.
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As Director of Program in Health Disparities at the University of Minnesota Medical School, he leads a dynamic
interdisciplinary team of more than 25 junior, mid-career, and senior health disparities research scientists conducting
extramurally (mostly NIH) funded research in areas such as nicotine dependence/smoking cessation,
nutrition/obesity, kidney diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pharmacokinetics, neuroimaging, health
services research, patient-provider relationship, cancer prevention, and community-based participatory research.
Dr. Okuyemi’s career in the last 20 years has focused on research and programs to improve the health of
underserved populations and eliminate health disparities using pharmacological and culturally tailored behavioral
interventions.
In addition to being the PI and Director of the NCI-funded Minnesota Center for Cancer Collaborations (a Community
Networks Program Center, 2010-2015), he has been Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on several federally
(NCI, NIDA, NHLBI, HRSA) funded studies totaling nearly $30 million aimed at reducing cancer-related health
disparities especially among African Americans, African Immigrants, and homeless populations.
He is Co-PI with Professor Jean Forster (EpiCH) of a $2.2 million NCI-funded R25T Cancer Education and Career
Development grant on cancer disparities to train Pre- and Post-doctoral fellows; and Core Director of the Community
Engagement Core of the NIMHD-funded P60 Center for Health Equity. He has also directed a federally-funded
Clinical Scholars Faculty Development Program for faculty in Family Medicine, General Internal Medicine, and
General Pediatrics.
Dr. Okuyemi has a passion for mentoring and has mentored several faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate, and
undergraduate students many of whom have progressed to establish their own independent academic, research, or
other health professional careers. Dr Okuyemi has published over 90 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book
chapters.
Selected publications:
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Okuyemi KS, Zheng H, Guo H, Ahluwalia JS. Predictors of adherence to nicotine gum and
counseling among African-American light smokers. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25:969-976.
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Berg CJ, Thomas JL, Guo H, An LC, Okuyemi KS, Collins TC, et al. Predictors of smoking
reduction among Blacks. Nicotine Tob Res. 2010;12:423-431.
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Faseru B, Cox LS, Bronars CA, Opole I, Reed GA, Mayo MS, Ahluwalia JS, Okuyemi KS. Design,
recruitment, and retention of African American smokers in a pharmacokinetic study. BMC Med Res Methodol.
2010;10:6.
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Warren J, Okuyemi KS, Guo H, Thomas J, Ahluwalia J. Predicting implementation of home
smoking restrictions among African American light smokers. Am J Health Behav. 2010;34:110-118.
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Ho MK, Faseru B, Choi WS, Nollen NL, Mayo MS, Thomas JL, Okuyemi KS, et al. Utility and
relationships of biomarkers of smoking in African American light smokers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev.
2009;18:3426-3434.
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Michelle van Ryn, PhD
Dr. van Ryn is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. She is
also a member of the Program in Health Disparities Research at the University of Minnesota.
Her research focuses on characteristics of provider-patient relationships as they influence health
outcomes. Most recently, she has studied the contribution of provider, patient, and encounter
factors to racial and ethnic disparities in quality of care as well as disparities in cancer care and the
experiences of caregivers of cancer patients.
Van Ryn is also working on developing and testing a web-based intervention intended to give
providers the skills they need to reduce unconscious bias in their clinical decision-making.
Selected publications:
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Van Ryn M, Burgess DJ, Dovidio JF, et al. The impact of racism on clinician cognition, behavior
and clinical decision-making. Du Bois Review: Social Sciences Research on Race 2011;8(1)199-218.
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Van Ryn M, Saha S. Exploring unconscious bias in disparities research and medical education.
JAMA, 2011;306:995-6.
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Burgess DJ, Van Ryn M, Grill J, Noorbaloochi S, Griffin JM, Ricards J, et al. Presence and
correlates of racial disparities in adherence to colorectal cancer screening guidelines. J Gen Intern Med.
2011;26:251-58.
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Griffin JM, Hulbert EM, Vernon SW, Nelson D, Hagel EM, Nugent S, Van Ryn M, et al. Improving
endoscopy completion: effectiveness of an interactive voice response system. Am J Manag Care. 2011;17:199208.
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Van Ryn M, Sanders S, Kahn K, van Houten C, Griffin JM, Martin M, et al. Objective burden,
resources, and other stressors among informal cancer caregivers: a hidden quality issue. Psycho-Oncology.
2011;20:44-52.
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Van Houtven CH, Ramsey SD, Hornbrook MC, Atienza AA, Van Ryn M. Economic burden for
informal caregivers of lung and colorectal cancer patients. Oncologist. 2010;15(8):883-93.
Tetyana Shippee, PhD
Tetyana Pylypiv Shippee obtained a Dual-Title PhD in Sociology and Gerontology from Purdue
University in 2008. She remained a research associate with Purdue’s Center on Aging and the Life
Course from 2008-2010. She is an Assistant Professor in the School Of Public Health, Division of
Health Policy and Management.
Her research focuses on racial disparities in health care and health, health trajectories over the life
course, and long-term care. In her work on health trajectories, she investigates how health
inequalities accumulate over time, based on the occupational and socioeconomic trajectories of
Black and White women. She is currently working on a project that examines the intergenerational
transmission of health inequality using a large sample of mother-daughter pairs.
This focus on disparities also extends to research on health care, and particularly the role of discrimination in shaping
access and utilization among minority populations. She is also involved in the development of cumulative inequality
theory to better understand the cumulative social processes that influence health. Finally, her research on long-term
care focuses on how institutional and individual factors influence adjustment to long-term care and residential
transitions among older adults. Her work in this area prior to coming to the University of Minnesota involved living in a
retirement home for two years (see Shippee 2009).
More recently, she is collaborating on projects that concern long-term care decision making and quality of care in
“small-house” nursing homes. Overall, Dr. Shippee’s research aims to address disparities in access to and utilization
of care, as well as examine the factors that promote well-being and positive adjustment across the life course and
into older age.
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Areas of specialization: Disparities in health and health care, discrimination, cumulative inequality theory, women’s
health, aging and the life course, and long-term care.
Selected publications:
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Shippee, Tetyana Pylypiv, Kenneth F. Ferraro, and Roland J. Thorpe. In press. “Racial Disparities
in Access to Cardiac Care Units Over 20 Years.” Ethnicity and Health.
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Schafer, Markus H. and Tetyana Pylypiv Shippee. 2010. “Age Identity in Context: The Intersection
of Linked Lives, Personal Control, and Perceived Temporality.” Social Psychology Quarterly 73: 245-264.
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Shippee, Tetyana Pylypiv. 2009. “But I am Not Moving: Transitions in a Continuing Care
Retirement Community.” The Gerontologist 49:418-427.
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Ferraro, Kenneth F. and Tetyana Pylypiv Shippee. 2009. “Aging and Cumulative Inequality: How
Does Inequality Get Under the Skin?” The Gerontologist 49:333-343.
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Schafer, Markus H. and Tetyana Pylypiv Shippee. 2009. “Age Identity, Gender, and Perceptions of
Decline: Does Feeling Older Lead to Pessimistic Dispositions About Cognitive Aging?” Journal of Gerontology:
Social Sciences 65B(1): 91-96.
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Ferraro, Kenneth F. and Tetyana Pylypiv Shippee. 2008. “Black and White Chains of Risk for
Hospitalization Over 20 years.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior49:193-207.
Zobeida E. Bonilla, PhD, MPH
Zobeida E. Bonilla completed her doctoral studies in medical anthropology, gender studies, and
women’s health at the University of Florida, and her MPH in maternal and child health at Boston
University. She has over 10 years of applied experience in public health working as a medical
interpreter in community health centers, and program evaluator and program manager in county
and state departments of public health and community-based agencies. Dr. Bonilla is an assistant
professor the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Areas of specialization: Maternal Child & Health, Latino/a health, qualitative health research,
program evaluation, global health (Caribbean region), health disparities, medical anthropology.
Selected publications:
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Bonilla, Z. E., Ona, F. (in press). Re-defining risk and promoting health in the Global South: New
paths for health educators. The Health Educator.
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Bonilla, Z.E., and Edwards, P.D. (in press). Difficulties encountered by heath care providers
delivering services to Latino families and their children with craniofacial conditions. Hispanic Health Care
International, 9(2).
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Correa, V., Bonilla, Z., Reyes, M. (2010). Social support networks of single Puerto Rico mothers of
young children with disabilities. Journal of Child and Family Studies (online first).
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Bonilla, Z.E. (2009). Including every woman: The all-embracing we of Our Bodies, Ourselves. In:
Diversity and Women’s Health, Sue Rosser, ed., The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, Maryland.
Katy Backes Kozhimannil, PhD
Katy Backes Kozhimannil earned a B.A. in International Relations and Spanish at the University of
Minnesota, an M.P.A. in Public Policy and Administration at Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in
Health Policy from Harvard University. She is trained in public policy and health services research,
and applies these skills in the context of women and children’s health.
Dr. Kozhimannil uses administrative claims and survey data to characterize patterns of care and
to examine the impacts of policies and interventions. She is particularly interested in the costs and
quality of women’s health services in the context of reform efforts and a changing health care
system. Dr. Kozhimannil conducts disparities research in the context of policy, as it is critically
important to assess outcomes across subgroups and among those who are most exposed to adverse or unintended
policy consequences.
Dr. Kozhimannil has recently completed an analysis of a statewide screening law on postpartum depression
treatment patterns among low-income women in the state of New Jersey; she has also investigated differences in
postpartum depression care by race/ethnicity in this same population. Additionally, Dr. Kozhimannil has just published
results of an analysis of the impact of a transition from an HMO to a high-deductible health plan on the costs and
utilization of maternity and delivery care services. Dr. Kozhimannil’s current projects include a series of studies using
national, hospital-based data to look at policy-relevant variations in childbirth-related care in order to identify both
successes and continuing concerns. She is also studying health insurance coverage during pregnancy and whether
women who work during their pregnancies make different choices about childbirth care than women who are not
employed.
Areas of specialization: Program and policy evaluation, research methods, federal and state health policy analysis,
maternal and child health services, disparities/vulnerable populations, and quality of care
Selected publications:
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Kozhimannil KB, Trinacty CM, Busch AB, Huskamp HA, Adams AS. Racial/ethnic disparities in
postpartum depression care among low-income women. Psychiatric Services. In press.
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Kozhimannil KB, Adams AS, Soumerai SB, Busch AB, Huskamp HA. New Jersey’s efforts to
improve postpartum depression care did not change treatment patterns for women on Medicaid. Health Affairs.
In press.
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Kozhimannil KB, Huskamp HA, Graves AJ, Soumerai SB, Ross-Degnan D, Wharam JF. High-
deductible health plans and costs and utilization of maternity care. American Journal of Managed Care.
2011;17(1)e15-e24.
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Kozhimannil KB, Valera MR, Adams AS, Ross-Degnan D. The population-level impacts of a
national health insurance program and franchise midwife clinics on achievement of prenatal and delivery care
standards in the Philippines. Health Policy 2009;92(1)55-64.
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Kozhimannil KB, Pereira M, Harlow BL. Association between diabetes and perinatal depression
among low-income mothers. JAMA 2009;301(8)842-847.
Wendy L. Hellerstedt, MPH, PhD
Areas of specialization: Sexual and reproductive health, adolescent health.
Wendy Hellerstedt received her MPH and PhD in Epidemiology from the School of Public
Health, University of Minnesota. She is a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist and has
been a faculty member in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of
Public Health, since 1994. She is the director of HRSA’s Center for Leadership Education in
Maternal and Child Public Health, which is dedicated to training public health leaders and
conducting outreach in areas that include health disparities. She is also the co-PI of the
Ramsey Location of NICHD’s National Children’s Study.
Hellerstedt has been involved in designing and implementing perinatal and reproductive health studies with
economically and/or socially disenfranchised women for her entire academic career. Since 2001, Hellerstedt has
collaborated on several multidisciplinary studies focusing on prenatal smoking cessation, adolescent sexual
health/pregnancy, pregnancy feelings and intention, prenatal substance use, and pregnancy and interpersonal
violence.
Hellerstedt also has collaborated in studies about body image among men who have sex with men and sexual risktaking. Recently, she completed a community-based participatory research project on the feelings of native youth
about pregnancy risk and a community-centered project on methamphetamine use among pregnant women.
Selected publications
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Gyllstrom M, Hellerstedt WL, McGovern P. Independent and interactive associations of prenatal
mood and substance use with infant birth outcomes. Matern Child Health J 2010 (Jan 7). [Epub ahead of print]
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Hennrikus D, Pirie P, Hellerstedt W, Lando HA, Steele J, Dunn C. Increasing support for smoking
cessation during pregnancy and postpartum: results of a pilot study. Prev Med 2010; 50(3):134-7.
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Jones-Webb R, Yu X, Wall M, Cui Y, Hellerstedt WL, Oswald J. Race, socioeconomic position and
premature mortality. Minnesota Medicine 2009 (Feb): 40-43.
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Hellerstedt WL, McGovern PM, Fontaine P, Oberg CN, Cordes JE. Prenatal environmental
exposures and child health. Minnesota’s role in the National Children’s Study. Minnesota Medicine 2008 (Sept):
30-34.
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Rhodes KL, Hellerstedt WL, Davey CS, Pirie PL, Daley KA. American Indian breastfeeding
attitudes and practices in Minnesota. Matern Child Health J, 2008;12(Sup 1):1092-7875.
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Garwick AW, Rhodes KL, Peterson-Hickey M, Hellerstedt WL. Native Teen Voices: adolescent
pregnancy prevention recommendations. J Adolesc Health 2008 42(1):81-8.
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Meschke LL, Hellerstedt WL, Holl J, Messelt S. Correlates of prenatal alcohol use. Matern Child
Health J 2008;12:442-51.
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Davies DA, Welles SL, Hellerstedt WL, Ross MW. Body image, body satisfaction, and unsafe anal
intercourse among men who have sex with men. J Sex Research 2008;45(1):49-56.
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Hellerstedt WL, Madsen NJ, Gunnar MR, Grotevant HD, Lee RM, Johnson DE. The International
Adoption Project: population-based surveillance of Minnesota families created through international adoption.
Matern Child Health J 2008;12:162-71.
Pat McGovern, PhD, MPH, RN
Areas of specialization: Women’s prenatal and postpartum health, occupational and
environmental health policy, and children’s health in relation to the environment
Pat McGovern focused her doctoral studies in health services research and policy and her MPH
in occupational and environmental health nursing. She is a professor in the Division of
Environmental Health Sciences. McGovern’s research on women’s postpartum health has
investigated the impact of factors such as family medical leave policy, job stress and social
support at work and home. Her community-based studies have addressed environmental
concerns such as women’s perceived exposures to pesticides in the home and community.
Her most recent study was conducted with diverse communities of women of reproductive years from the Red River
Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota. The research team used Photovoice methodology so that participants could
document with photographs and discuss their perceived exposures with the research team to create a photo exhibit
to engage local decision-makers in identifying problems and solutions.
McGovern and the National Children’s Study
Most recently McGovern has been developing a Study Center for the National Children’s Study (NCS). The NCS,
funded by the National Institutes of Health, will examine how environmental, biologic, behavioral, and genetic factors
are associated with pregnancy outcomes and with the health of children from infancy to 21 years. The NCS is an
observational study that will be conducted in 105 locations in the U.S., and the Main Study will include a
representative sample of 100,000 women and their offspring. University of Minnesota (UM) researchers, in
collaboration with health care and community partners, will conduct the research in randomly selected Ramsey
County neighborhoods.
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In January 2010 the UM team was selected to participate in a pilot recruitment study. In combination with the 29 other
study centers, the results from the pilot will be used to create a “tool box” of best practices to inform the Main Study.
The guiding research question for the pilot recruitment study is to identify components of recruitment strategies that
are the most effective and cost efficient options to identify, recruit and enroll sufficient numbers of eligible women into
a population based cohort study.
“The NCS provides an incredible opportunity to contribute to our knowledge of the etiology, risk and protective factors
for increasingly prevalent conditions such as asthma, allergies, autism, diabetes and obesity. Ultimately the
knowledge gained will contribute to improvements in prevention, treatment and health policy for children” said
McGovern.
Selected publications on the above projects include:
●
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Stedman-Smith M, McGovern P, Peden-McAlpine C, Kingery L, Drager K. (In press).
Photovoice in the Red River Basin of the North: A Systematic Evaluation of a Community-
Academic Partnership. Health Promotion Practice.
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Hellerstedt WL, McGovern PM, Fontaine P, Oberg CN, Cordes JE. (2008). Prenatal Environmental
Exposures and Child Health: Minnesota’s Role in the National Children’s Study. Minnesota Medicine.
September, 2008. (Available online: http://www.minnesotamedicine.com).
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McGovern PM, Dowd BE, Gjerdingen DG, Dagher R, Ukestad LK, McCaffrey D, Lundberg U.
(2007). Mothers’ Health and Work-Related Factors at 11 Weeks Postpartum. Annals of Family Medicine, 5:519527.
Carolyn M. Garcia, PhD, MPH, RN
Areas of specialization: Health promotion, specifically emotional- and social-well-being of
adolescents; Latino adolescent health, stress and coping; school-based, asset-building
interventions involving youth and parents; mixed-methods, including photovoice, momentary
sampling, and dyad communication data; eliminating health disparities through system-level
policy change.
Biography and Current Work
Carolyn Garcia received her Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Minnesota. She completed a postdoctoral
fellowship in Adolescent Nursing at the University of Minnesota. Dr. García has been a faculty member of the
University Of Minnesota since 2006 with a primary appointment in the School of Nursing and an adjunct appointment
in the School of Public Health.
Her current research is community-engaged, working with urban public schools and agencies serving Latino youth
and their families, with the goal of developing sustainable, effective health promoting interventions that are school-
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based, and family-centric and positively influence the emotional- and social-wellbeing of Latino youth. Project Wings
is a bi-modal intervention that offers a group-based program to Latino teen girls and their mothers, along with home
visits to the mothers. The intervention is currently being pilot tested in Minneapolis and St. Paul, with promising
results.
Selected publications:
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Garcia C. (in press). Coping with the conceptualization and measurement of coping during
adolescence: A review of the literature. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, NIHMSID 189666
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Garcia C, Leite A, Vazquez G, Gilchrist L, Skay C, Raymond, N. (in press). Urban and Rural
Immigrant Latino Youths’ and Adults’ Knowledge and Beliefs about Mental Health Resources. Journal of
Immigrant and Minority Health
●
Garcia C, Pagan J, Hardeman R. (2010). Context matters: Where would you be the least worse off
in the US if you were uninsured? Health Policy, 94(1), 76-83.
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Garcia C, Lindgren S. (2009). “Life Grows Between the Rocks” Latino adolescents’ and parents’
perspectives on mental health stressors. Research in Nursing and Health, 32(2), 148-162. NIHMS189667
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Garcia C, Skay C, Sieving R, Naughton S, Bearinger L. (2008). Family and racial factors
associated with suicide and emotional distress among Latino students. Journal of School Health, 78(9), 487-95
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Garcia C, Gilchrist L, Centro Campesino, Raymond N, Naughton S, Patino J. (2008). Using
community-based participatory research to develop a bilingual mental health survey for Latinos. PCHP Journal:
Research, Education and Action Journal, 2(2), 105-20.
Sonya S. Brady, PhD
Areas of specialization: Socio-developmental influences on health risk behavior during
adolescence and young adulthood; Socioeconomic and ethnicity-based disparities in
consequences of risk taking; Mechanisms linking stressful life circumstances to risk behavior
and factors promoting resiliency; Promotion of health protective behavior; Public policies
affecting adolescent health
Biography and Current Work
Sonya Brady received her Ph.D. in Health Psychology and Clinical Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. She
completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Health Psychology at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Brady
has been a faculty member of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health since 2007. Her current research
includes a partnership with the Minnesota Association of Black Psychologists to examine vulnerability and resiliency
to stress among African American families, with the goal of informing programs and policies developed by health
professionals, schools, and the juvenile justice system to address risk behavior among youth.
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Dr. Brady’s research also includes a longitudinal study of alcohol use and abuse among college students, with an
emphasis on psychosocial risk and protective factors that may contribute to patterns of drinking. Additionally, Dr.
Brady is developing a website intervention to promote healthy decision-making in the context of adolescents’
romantic and sexual relationships. Collectively, this research is aimed towards reducing health disparities that are
rooted in socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, stressor exposure, and inequities in power.
Selected Publications
●
Brady, S. S., Dolcini, M. M., Harper, G. W., & Pollack, L. M. (2009). Supportive friendships
moderate the association between stressful life events and sexual risk taking among African American
adolescents. Health Psychology, 28, 238-248.
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Brady, S. S., Tschann, J. M., Pasch, L. A., Flores, E., & Ozer, E. J. (2009). Cognitive coping
moderates the association between violent victimization by peers and substance use among adolescents.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 34, 304-310.
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Brady, S. S., Gorman-Smith, D., Henry, D. B., & Tolan, P. H. (2008). Adaptive coping reduces the
impact of community violence exposure on violent behavior among African American and Latino male
adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 105-115.
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Brady, S. S., & Matthews, K. A. (2002). The influence of socioeconomic status and ethnicity on
adolescents’ exposure to stressful life events. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 27, 575-583.
Jean Forster, PhD, MPH
Areas of specialization: Public health policy as a preventive strategy, community based strategies
for chronic disease prevention with emphasis on tobacco.
Jean Forster received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and her M.P.H. from the University
of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She has been on the faculty of the School of Public Health since 1988.
Her research has focused on the potential of public health policy to reduce the population rate of
chronic disease risk factors with special interest in tobacco use among minority populations. Dr.
Forster has evaluated state and local policies to reduce youth tobacco use. Since 2001, she has
collaborated with members of the American Indian community in the Twin Cities on a series of community-based
participatory research projects to develop strategies to reduce commercial tobacco use among Native Americans.
Most recently she has collaborated with John Poupart of the American Indian Policy Center and the Inter Tribal
Elders Services organization to pilot a program working with American Indian elders to become leaders of the
movement against commercial tobacco use in the community. She and John Poupart are also leading the Tribal
Tobacco Use Project, working with the tribes in Minnesota to measure attitudes and behaviors relevant to both
recreational and traditional tobacco use. “Commercial tobacco use is higher among American Indians in the Upper
Midwest than any other population group in the United States” said Dr Forster. “It is a risk factor for disease from
which American Indians suffer disproportionately”.
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Selected publications:
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Forster JL, Rhodes KL, Poupart J, Baker LO, Davey C for the American Indian Community
Tobacco Project Steering Council. Patterns of Tobacco Use in a Sample of American Indians in Minneapolis-St.
Paul. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 9(Suppl 1):S29-S37, 2007.
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Forster JL, Brokenleg I, Rhodes KL, Lamont GR, Poupart J. Cigarette smoking among American
Indian youth in Minneapolis-St. Paul. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 35(6S):S449-S456, 2008.
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Bernat DH, Lazovich D, Forster JL, Oakes JM, Chen V. Area-level variation in adolescent smoking.
Preventing Chronic Disease Apr; 6(2):A42, 2009
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Klein EG, Forster JL, Erickson DJ, Lytle La, Schillo B. The Relationship Between Local Clean
Indoor Air Policies and Smoking in Youth. Tobacco Control 18:132-137, 2009.
Daheia Barr-Anderson, PhD, MSPH
Areas of specialization: Childhood and adolescent obesity, physical activity epidemiology.
Dr. Barr-Anderson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology and an Adjunct
Professor in the School of Public Health. Her research interests focus on physical activity,
sedentary behaviors, and obesity prevention in children and adolescents. She is particularly
interested in school- and community-based, environmental interventions that incorporate both
physical activity and nutrition to achieve healthy outcomes and to decrease racial/ethnic health
inequalities.
An area of research she is beginning to explore is how factors within the home activity and food environments
interplay with individual and interpersonal factors to contribute to overweight and obesity in children, adolescents, and
their families. She was recently awarded a New Connections grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This
two-year grant will support her work to study perceived and objective environmental influences on physical activity
among high school girls. The New Connections grant will complement Dr. Barr-Anderson’s current, K-12, career
development grant funded through the Deborah E. Powell Center for Women’s Health that focuses on environmental
influences of overweight and obesity among African American adolescent girls.
Selected publications
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Nelson MC, Larson NI, Barr-Anderson DJ, Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M. Disparities in dietary
intake, meal patterning and home food environments among young adults non-students and 2-year and 4-year
college students. American Journal of Public Health. 2009;99:1216-19.
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Walters S, Barr-Anderson DJ, Wall M, Neumark-Sztainer D. Does participation in organized sports
predict future physical activity for adolescents from diverse economic backgrounds? Journal of Adolescent
Health. 2009;44(3):268-74.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yopCJMyDrdlDcS6yplq9asSmxnN9q0bpOADmNpr1ORM
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Barr-Anderson DJ, Neumark-Sztainer D, Lytle L, Schmitz K, Pratt C, Ward D, Conway T, Strikmiller
P, Pate R. But I Like PE: Factors associated with enjoyment of physical education class in middle school girls.
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 2008;79:18-27.
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Sirard JR, Barr-Anderson DJ. Physical activity in adolescents: from associations to interventions.
Journal of Adolescent Health. 2008;42:327-8.
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