The team of Alina Okamoto, Malik Williams, and Moriam Yarrow created a three-component digital strategy for treating hypertensive patients in the Houston, TX area.
Students
Switching to a plant-centered diet linked to reduced diabetes risk for young adults as they age
PhD student Yuni Choi found that study participants with the greatest increase in plant-centered diet quality scores had a 48% lower risk of Type 2 diabetes compared to those who did not alter their diet.
Mapping tick-borne disease risk in Wisconsin
PhD student Austin Rau analyzed the cases of three serious — but lesser-known — tick-borne diseases in Wisconsin and found that they are increasing, moving, and varying over time across the state.
Evaluating changes in food insecurity, stress, and weight-related behaviors among mothers during pandemic
The findings of the study by PhD students Jessica Friedman and Junia N. de Brito will help clinicians and policymakers improve their understanding of how the pandemic is affecting the health of mothers and connect women and their families with community resources and support.
Children eat healthier school meals following Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
The study by recent graduate Aaron Berger (PhD ’20) found that kids ate a regular amount of the improved meals, which sets them up for healthier lives.
Two students earn POCI Caucus Internships
MPH students Tricia Alexander and Joanne Hill were selected to be interns for the Minnesota State Legislature’s People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus, which focuses on criminal justice reform and reducing disparities in education, health care, and economic security in the state.
Food insecurity raised risk for disordered eating in low-income adolescents
The study led by PhD student Laura Hooper surveyed a group of diverse, low socioeconomic status adolescents and found that 39% experienced household food insecurity and 43% reported disordered eating.
Evaluating diversity and inclusion in the health services and policy research workforce
PhD student Tongtan Chantarat is co-leading a study funded by AcademyHealth to see if the research field is improving workplace culture and dismantling structural racism.
Excess sugar linked to dangerous heart and abdominal fat
The study led by PhD student So Yun Yi found that sugar intake over a 20-year period was related to the existence of fat volumes around the heart and abdomen later in life.
Family deaths may keep Black and Native American young adults from graduating college
Research by PhD student Naomi Thyden shows that young adults who were college-aged when a sibling or parent died were about half as likely to graduate from college.
Teens take opportunity to sleep longer when high schools start later
The study led by Associate Professor Rachel Widome showed that teens slept roughly 40 minutes more each night when schools delayed their start times to approximately 8:30 a.m.
SPH team creates COVID-19 info sheets and video for Hennepin County Jail
Affiliate Assistant Professor Rebecca Shlafer led students Karmen Dippmann, Carly Edson, and Rachael Mills in the project to replace fear with facts among people incarcerated in the jail.
