Team
weSIPsmarter was developed at the University of Virginia. The research team includes a group of registered dietitians and psychologists. This team has been developing interventions to decrease sugary drinks for many years.
Principle Investigators:
Dr. Jamie Zoellner is a Professor and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. She is the Director of the Community-Based Health Equity Research Program. Dr. Zoellner focuses on lifestyle risk factors linked to obesity and cancer. She leads many research projects including those targeting sugary drinks, childhood obesity treatment, and rural cancer control.
Co-Investigators:
Dr. Lee Ritterband is the Jean and Ronald Butcher Eminent Scholars Professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He is the Director of the Center for Behavioral Health and Technology and has degrees in clinical psychology and computer technology. Dr. Ritterband is a leading researcher in Internet health interventions. He has given numerous talks nationally and internationally on the use of the Internet in research and clinical practice.
Dr. Kathleen Porter is a Research Associate Professor and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on the implementation and effectiveness of evidence-based health education programs as a means to reduce risk for preventive diseases, including cancer and obesity. She has served as a co-investigator on many of the sugary drink research studies.
Dr. Wen You is a Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. She conducts applied health economics, health policy design, and evaluation research. Dr. You’s research program goal is to address health disparity through improving the economic welfare and health of disadvantaged populations.
IRB Coordinator:
Donna Brock is a Research Program Director in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. She has a master’s degree in experimental psychology and many years of experience in coordinating behavioral lifestyle research projects. Donna is one of the Study Coordinators who may contact you to help you enroll in and complete the study.
Study Coordinators:
Annie Reid is a Research Specialist Senior in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. She is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a background in public health and community health education. Annie is one of the Study Coordinators who may contact you to help you enroll in and complete the study.
Teace Markwalter is a Research Specialist Intermediate in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. She has a background in public health. Teace is one of the Study Coordinators who may contact you to help you enroll in and complete the study.
Caroline Jones is a Research Specialist in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. She has a background in public health. Caroline is one of the Study Coordinators who may contact you to help you enroll in and complete the study.
Cheyanne Helms is a Research Program Advisor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. She has a background in public health. Cheyanne is one of the Study Coordinators who may contact you to help you enroll in and complete the study.
Additional Study Team Members
Christina Frederick serves as project coordinator for the Center for Behavioral Health and Technology’s suite of internet intervention studies including older adult/adolescent sleep, adolescent migraine/pain, medication adherence, addiction, and risk reduction in various patient populations.
Dr. Michelle Hilgart is an experienced instructional designer and researcher. For the past decade, Dr. Hilgart has contributed to the development of internet interventions to improve health outcomes for populations with insomnia, spinal cord injury, type 1 diabetes, and cancer. Her research focuses on using best-practice instructional design methods in the development of health behavior change interventions.
- Ian Terrell
- Gabriel Health
- Thor Guy
- Brendan Murphy
Partner Organizations:
Twelve Head Start organizations are involved in this research project. These organizations are helping to lead recruitment and referral of families into the weSIPsmarter study.
The development of this research study has been supported by a National Institutes of Health grant #R01CA282436. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the University of Virginia or the National Institutes of Health.