Nancy G. Murray, DrPH
HEADS UP Principal Investigator
The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living
The University of Texas School of Public Health - Houston Campus
1200 Herman Pressler, 9th Floor West
Houston, Texas 77030
Office 713.500.9333
Fax 713.500.9329
Nancy.G.Murray@uth.tmc.edu
Dr. Murray is an assistant professor of behavioral sciences and health promotion at the University of Texas School of Public Health. She is currently Principal Investigator for HEADS UP, the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Research Resources-funded Science Education Partnership Award project which sponsors this Teacher Summer Science Institute. From 1999 to 2006 she served as scientific coordinator and then deputy director of the CDC-funded University of Texas Prevention Research Center. She currently directs the Community Engagement Core for the NIH-funded Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences at the University of Texas health Science Center at Houston.
She has been principal investigator for several studies on school health issues funded by the Centers for Disease Control: Effective Coordinated School Health Programs which provided pre-service curriculum modules for university faculty on Coordinated School Health; and PASS & CATCH, a project on the role of school-based physical activity on academic performance among elementary school children. Additional projects for which she serves as co-investigator include the CATCH dissemination project; Healthy Passages (a community-based longitudinal study of adolescent health); the community engagement core for the Hispanic Health Research Center in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and the dissemination core for the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network. Dr. Murray assisted Dr. Kelder in the development of the School Health Index and led the team that wrote the Education and Health chapter for the 2007 Code Red Texas white paper.
Dr. Murray attended Duke University and received a BA in psychology and a master’s degree in developmental psychology from the University of Southern California. She earned her doctorate and post-doctorate degrees in health promotion and health education from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health.
Nathalie Sessions, BBA
HEADS UP Project Director
The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living
The University of Texas School of Public Health - Austin Regional Campus
7320 North MoPac, Suite 300
Austin, Texas 78731
Office 512.346.6163
Fax 512.346.6802
Nathalie.Sessions@uth.tmc.edu
Nathalie is a research coordinator with experience in health promotion, academic research, K-16 education, community relations, health care, broadcast television, and multimedia production. She has expertise in high-profile event planning and project management. Throughout her career, she has worked with diverse groups ranging from high-level executives, scientists, researchers, classroom teachers, students, families, and the lay community.
In her role as HEADS UP project director, Nathalie brings together collaborators for development and dissemination of educational materials, manages media production, prepares and presents at local, regional, and national conferences, and plans and executes local and regional teacher professional development activities.
Before joining the HEADS UP team in 2005, Nathalie worked as a community outreach coordinator for the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) where she managed the Mini Medical School public education series featuring the institution’s faculty and researchers. She also coordinated other health promotion activities and high-profile special events for marketing and business development of UTMB such as health fairs, trade show exhibits, campus tours and the speakers’ bureau. Prior to her state service, Nathalie worked as the sales project manager of KHOU-TV (Houston’s CBS affiliate), as the marketing and production manager for a local multimedia production company, and as director of new student orientation for the University of St. Thomas (UST).
A native Houstonian of French and Italian descent, Nathalie graduated from UST with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and minor in philosophy. In addition to working full time, she is also a dietician-in-training and has successfully completed all pre-requisite science courses as a post-baccalaureate student at Houston Community College and the University of Houston. In July 2009, Nathalie relocated to Austin to continue her studies in Nutrition and Foods at Texas State University–San Marcos. Her areas of interest include childhood obesity prevention, school food service, nutrition policy, corporate wellness, health science career exploration, and science education.