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Roy B. Allen, MA
Programmer Analyst III
Houston Research Office, Houston, Texas
Roy.B.Allen@uth.tmc.edu
Roy is responsible for the design and implementation of relational databases to meet project management, research data management and administrative needs for the Dell Center for Healthy Living. His responsibilities also include performing preliminary data analysis.
Research interests include: violent crime and homicide statistics, the impact of medical care on violent crime, public opinion regarding crime and criminal justice, nutrition-related and physical activity research
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Heather Atteberry, BS
Senior Research Assistant
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Heather.N.Atteberry@uth.tmc.edu
Heather is the Measurement Coordinator Assistant for the new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Texas Child Obesity Prevention Evaluation (T-COPPE) project and a Research Assistant at the Dell Center for Healthy Living. She assists in all aspects of the grant from district and school communication to field coordination. Heather also assists with facilitating the Live Smart Texas coalition meetings and events.
Research interests include: child and adolescent health, physical activity, built environment, obesity prevention policy and evaluation
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Courtney Byrd-Williams, Ph.D
NCI Postdoctoral Fellow
Trinity Research Office, Austin, Texas
Courtney.E.Byrdwilliams@uth.tmc.edu
Dr. Byrd-Williams joined the National Cancer Institute Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Cancer Prevention and Control after completing her PhD in Health Behavior Research at the Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Byrd-Williams’ research interests include the socio-ecological causes and physiological consequences of physical activity and dietary behaviors of adolescents. Her previous research has focused on the relationships among physical activity, diet, fat deposition, and metabolic outcomes in African American and Hispanic adolescents. Throughout the course of the NCI fellowship, Dr. Byrd-Williams will begin working with Drs. Deanna Hoelscher and Steve Kelder to investigate the antecedents of and the interrelationships between physical activity and eating behaviors.
Research interests include: effects of nutrition and physical activity interventions on adiposity and metabolic profiles in adolescents, effects of nutrition interventions on the decision-making and eating behaviors of adolescents, and individual, social, and environmental determinants of eating and physical activity behaviors of adolescents
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Elizabeth Camp, MPH
Senior Research Assistant
Trinity Research Office, Austin, Texas
Elizabeth.J.Camp@uth.tmc.edu
Elizabeth (Elie) is the Grant and Publication Specialist. She works with faculty and staff to assist in preparing grants and manuscripts. She also assists in preparing presentations for conferences and other events. Elie manages the reference database, ensuring faculty access to research relevant to their interests. Additionally, she tracks funding opportunities and provides this information to faculty.
Research interests include: Maternal and child health, child nutrition, obesity, health promotion
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Sherman Chow, MPH, MA
Senior Research Assistant
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Sherman.Chow@uth.tmc.edu
Sherman is a Senior Research Assistant on three research projects: 1) Marathon Kids® Evaluation Project; 2) Dell CATCH Middle School; and 3) Sprouting Healthy Communities. He is the qualitative research assistant for the Marathon Kids® project and is also responsible for scheduling data collection. For the CATCH Middle School project, he assists in scheduling data collection, school communication, and supervising and conducting fieldwork. Sherman is also the Measurement Coordinator for the Sprouting Health Communities evaluation project, a middle school-based nutrition intervention in collaboration with the Sustainable Food Center.
Research interests include: qualitative research methods, participatory action research, sustainable intervention, socio-cultural and behavioral factors of health, children’s health and nutrition, health policy and management
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Isabel Clark, MA
Research Associate
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Isabel.T.Clark@uth.tmc.edu
Isabel is a Registered Dietitian and is the Nutrition Coordinator for the Dell CATCH Travis County Elementary School program. She facilitates the implementation of the school food service component of CATCH, serves as a liaison between the school food service staff and the CATCH Team, and develops CATCH promotional and support materials as needed for the CATCH elementary project in Travis County. Isabel has prior work experience working on the WIC program.
Research interests include: Early childhood and child and adolescent nutrition, working with families with special health care needs
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Megan Conklin, MPH
Research Associate
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Allison.M.Conklin@uth.tmc.edu
Megan is the Middle School Coordinator for the CATCH program and a Research Associate in the Dell Center for Healthy Living. Her primary responsibilities include scheduling and conducting CATCH Middle School trainings throughout Texas.
Research interests include: child nutrition and physical activity as well as implementing and evaluating coordinated school health programs
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Peter Cribb, M.Ed.
Research Coordinator II
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Peter.W.Cribb@uth.tmc.edu
Peter is the CATCH Middle School Program Director. He oversees execution of the Dell CATCH Middle School grant, including coordination of measurement and intervention teams. Peter also conducts CATCH trainings at the state and national level.
Research interests include: child physical activity and nutrition, implementation and evaluation of coordinated school health programming
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Joanne Delk, MS
Research Associate
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Joanne.E.Delk@uth.tmc.edu
Joanne is the Measurement Coordinator for the Dell CATCH Travis County Elementary School Project. She schedules data collection within the schools and performs measurements with the assistance of a team of data collectors.
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Poonam Dhavan, MBBS, DHA, MPH
Research Coordinator II
Houston Research Office, Houston, Texas
Poonam.Dhavan@uth.tmc.edu
Poonam serves as Research Coordinator for various tobacco control and obesity-related projects at the Dell Center for Healthy Living. She provides day to day project management coordination for research projects and develops study protocols, project surveys, and training programs for Project ACTIVITY and the 2010 Surgeon General’s Report study team. She also ensures all staff receives proper training and are implementing the study protocols as originally envisioned, and evaluates and interprets data to provide results for support of publication and presentation.
Research interests include: non-communicable diseases, tobacco control, socioeconomic determinants of health, and health systems with focus on developing country settings
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Karen Doramus-Burnell, M.Ed
Research Coordinator II
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Karen.M.Burnell@uth.tmc.edu
Karen is currently serving as the National CATCH Training Director for all CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health) related projects. She also conducts CATCH training workshops throughout the nation, oversees and builds capacity for the national CATCH training team, and provides consultation for state and regional CATCH initiatives including needs assessment, training, and evaluation. Karen has worked on numerous grant-funded projects that target implementing CATCH and coordinated school health practices within school and communities.
Research interests include: Physical activity, implementing and evaluating coordinated school health and physical education programs
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Deirdre Douglass, MS, RD
Houston Research Office, Houston, Texas
Deirdre.L.Douglass@uth.tmc.edu
Deirdre is the Nutritionist that supports and manages the Food Intake Analysis System (FIAS) software sales and training. She is a registered dietitian who helped develop FIAS and supports specialized programming and analysis activities related to nutrient analysis and dietary intake assessment. She provides nutritional consultation for many projects in the Center.
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Marty Evans, MS, Ph.D
Senior Research Associate
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Martin.H.Evans@uth.tmc.edu
As a Senior Research Assistant, Marty works primarily on two research projects. Marty is the Project Coordinator for an obesity prevention postcard campaign funded by the RGK Foundation. The goal of the postcard campaign is to increase the active participation of parents and families in activities designed to prevent overweight and obesity. Additionally, Marty is a member of the measurement and evaluation team on the Dell CATCH Travis County Elementary School project, and is primarily responsible for developing instruments and collecting process evaluation data. In addition to these duties, Marty completed his Ph.D. in Public Health from the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health.
Research interests include: Effects of commercial media on adolescent health, development of programs for increasing positive youth development and empowerment through the use of new media technologies
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Harold Flenoy, II
Administrative Assistant II
Trinity Research Office, Austin, Texas
Harold.E.Flenoy.II@uth.tmc.edu
Harold is the lead administrator of the Dell Center for Healthy Living and the Austin Regional Campus. He is the direct liaison to the UTSPH Dean’s Office in Houston, as well as the Office of Sponsored Projects of UTHSC. Harold is responsible for administrative and research-related budget review and calculations on the Dell Center for Healthy Living research and state project accounts. In addition, he directs all personnel actions, submits all grant proposals to funding agencies and the UTHSC Office of Sponsored Projects, and trains all research support services team members on administrative protocols and compliance standards for the Center.
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Lupe Garcia, Jr., MA
Data Management Analyst
Houston Research Office, Houston, Texas
Lupe.Garcia@uth.tmc.edu
Lupe is the Website Coordinator and a Database Manager for the Dell Center for Healthy Living. He is involved in the design and management of research databases and web page design and maintenance. He is the lead analyst on the nutrient analysis and food frequency questionnaire development and the developer and programmer for our Food Intake Analysis System (FIAS) software. Lupe is also Co-Chair of the Dell Center for Healthy Living communications team.
Research interests include: Exercise, nutrition, and Data Entry Systems development
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Alejandra Gonzales
Research Assistant II
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Alejandra.B.Gonzalez@uth.tmc.edu
Alejandra is the Travis County CATCH Community & Family Outreach Coordinator. She also serves as a liaison between schools & community leaders and groups to facilitate actions that promote physical activity and healthy eating with target students and families.
Research interests include: developing and implementing family outreach trainings
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Pam Greer, BS
Research Coordinator I
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Pamela.Greer@uth.tmc.edu
Pam is the Administrative Assistant in the CATCH field office. Pam acts as a liaison with the MoPac property management, assists in account reconciliations, and orders computers and any other supporting materials needed at the field office. She is also responsible for making travel arrangements for the MoPac office personnel and some faculty, and maintains a CATCH database.
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Kacey Hanson, BS, MPH
Research Associate
MoPac Field Office, Austin. Texas
Kacey.A.Hanson@uth.tmc.edu
Kacey is the Dell CATCH Middle School Project Facilitator. She provides program training and implementation support to middle school CATCH Teams in Austin, Del Valle, Manor, Pflugerville, and Round Rock School Districts.
Research Interests: Behavior change interventions and evaluations, social determinants of health, community-based participatory research, obesity prevention, diabetes prevention and treatment, and minority health disparities.
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Cheryl Hayes
Senior Staff Assistant
Houston Research Office, Houston, Texas
Cheryl.Hayes@uth.tmc.edu
Cheryl serves as the Senior Staff Assistant for faculty members and research staff of the Dell Center for Healthy Living. She arranges travel itineraries and organizes meetings for the Center.
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Emily Hines, MPH
Senior Research Assistant
Trinity Research Office, Austin, Texas
Emily.B.Hines@uth.tmc.edu
Emily participates in field research for T-COPPE and assists in research, communications, grants, and administrative duties for the Dell Center.
Research Interests: Childhood obesity prevention through school-based health education and interventions
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Heather Hochberg-Garrett, MPH, RD, LD
Research Associate
Houston Research Office, Houston, Texas
Heather.F.Hochberg-Garrett@uth.tmc.edu
Heather is the Project Coordinator for the Marathon Kids® Evaluation Project and served as Measurement Coordinator for the Harris County Steps CATCH Project. She also works with the Dietetic Internship Program through assisting the internship directors. Heather is the lead coordinator of National Nutrition Month® activities for the Center.
Research interests include: Obesity prevention, vegetarian nutrition, maternal and child nutrition, pregnancy and lactation, nutrition education
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Tiffni Menendez, MPH
Research Coordinator II
Trinity Research Office, Austin, Texas
Tiffni.Menendez@uth.tmc.edu
Tiffni is a Research Coordinator for the Dell Center for Healthy Living and works primarily to ensure all functions and work plans for the Center are met. Tiffni is responsible for research and communications across all projects within the Center, taking leads in the development and coordination of intervention and evaluation materials, and the development of manuscripts and reports. Tiffni is the Co-Project Director of the Texas Child Obesity Prevention Policy Evaluation (T-COPPE) Project She is also the Program Manager of Live Smart Texas, a statewide coalition of over 80 organizations including academics, prevention advocates, community leaders, stakeholders, and governmental agencies committed to improving the lives of Texas through obesity prevention and management. Tiffni oversees the Dell Center for Healthy Living Scientific Advisory Council, the annual Michael and Susan Dell Lectureship in Child Health, and the Texas Obesity Awareness Week activities. She is also a member of the Dell CATCH Travis County Elementary project, the Dell CATCH Middle School project, and the School Emergency Preparedness project. Additionally, Tiffni is the co-chair of the communications team and also the chair of the Center community events and outreach team.
Research interests include: obesity prevention among children and adolescents; media use related to the childhood obesity epidemic; school-based health promotion programs; dietary and physical activity assessment; dissemination of school health programs
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Chad Misner, BA
Research Associate
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Chad.M.Misner@uth.tmc.edu
Chad is a CATCH Facilitator for the Dell CATCH Elementary Travis County project. He is also currently serving as a CATCH Middle School Trainer at the state level. Additionally, for the past three years Chad has helped apply CATCH principles in the Williamson County community through After School Care programs.
Research interests include: Child nutrition and physical activity
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Cynthia Ochoa
Administrative Assistant I
Trinity Research Office, Austin, Texas
Cynthia.D.Ochoa@uth.tmc.edu
Direct: (512) 482-6184
Cynthia is an Administrative Assistant for the Dell Center for Healthy Living. She performs high level administrative, accounting and office operations for the Director, Co-Director, faculty and staff in the Center. She coordinates faculty travel, maintains office operations, reconciles accounts, prepares and disseminates correspondence, and assists with preparing reports.
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Michael Pomeroy, BS
Research Assistant I
Houston Research Office, Houston, Texas
Michael.Pomeroy@uth.tmc.edu
Michael assists in data collection, data entry, and data management for various projects in the Dell Center for Healthy Living. He also helps with Spanish translation.
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Leslie Read, BBA
Research Coordinator I
Houston Research Office, Houston, Texas
Leslie.B.Read@uth.tmc.edu
Leslie is the Research Coordinator for Dr. Susie Day. She is currently working on her culminating experience project to complete her MPH degree from The University of Texas School of Public Health.
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Nathalie Sessions, BBA
Research Coordinator I
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Nathalie.Sessions@uth.tmc.edu
Nathalie serves as the Project Director for HEADS UP, a health science education initiative funded by a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Center for Research Resources/National Institutes of Health. Nathalie’s background is in health promotion, community relations, multimedia production, and academic research. Nathalie oversees all aspects of HEADS UP from development of educational materials to dissemination and teacher professional development activities. She interacts with middle and high school science, health, and career technology educators and facilitates collaboration with school districts, curriculum/teaching specialists, community partners, media professionals, field experts, scientists, researchers throughout The University of Texas System, Texas Medical Center, and state and national organizations. Nathalie’s responsibilities also include working closely with the CATCH Middle School program which features select HEADS UP materials, the CCTS Community Engagement Core in Houston, and the EXPORT Community Engagement Core based in Brownsville.
Research interests include: Science education, Nutrition, childhood obesity prevention, community education, school food service, teacher wellness, food/nutrition policy, and grocery store tours
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Tina Simms, MSW
Senior Research Assistant
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Tina.N.Simms@uth.tmc.edu
Tina is a Measurement Coordinator for the School Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) Project and also assists with the Robert Wood Johnson-Texas Childhood Obesity Prevention Policy Evaluation (RWJ-TCOPPE) grant.
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Carolyn Smith, BS
Research Coordinator I
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Carolyn.L.Smith@uth.tmc.edu
Carolyn coordinates the SPAN Project and is the Measurement Director for The Impact of Senate Bill 19 on Elementary School Children’s Level of Physical Activity and The Impact of Texas Senate Bill 42 on Middle School Children’s Level of Physical Activity – both funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She is also Project Director for CATCH ‘EM.
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Kyna Thacker, BA
Research Assistant II
Brownsville Research Office, Brownsville, Texas
Kyna.B.Thacker@uth.tmc.edu
Kyna is the Intervention Coordinator for the CATCH En Vivo project. She assists with data collection on the CATCH projects in Brownsville.
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Joey Walker, MPH
Research Coordinator I
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Joey.L.Walker@uth.tmc.edu
Joey serves as the Project Director for the Dell CATCH Elementary Travis County Project. She facilitates the implementation of CATCH in the elementary schools in Travis County. Additionally, Joey is a CATCH Master Trainer in the CATCH Program and CATCH Kids Club (CKC) Program. She is involved in training school and after-school personnel in CATCH and CKC in Texas and across the nation. For the past nine years Joey has been working with the CATCH Program training and assisting schools with the implementation of CATCH
Research interests include: Child health, specifically nutrition and physical activity behaviors, and coordinated school health
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Jerri Ward, MA, RD, LD
Research Associate
MoPac Field Office, Austin, Texas
Jerri.L.Ward@uth.tmc.edu
Jerri is currently revising and developing the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade CATCH classroom curriculum and Child Nutrition Services manual for the CATCH Nutrition Plus Project. She also assists with implementation of the Dell CATCH Elementary Travis County project. Jerri has also been the Project Coordinator for the School-Based Nutrition Monitoring (SBNM) Project and the Incorporating More Physical Activity and Nutrition in Teens (IMPACT) Project.
Research interests include: nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors; nutrition curriculum; and child nutrition Services
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