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Department of Pediatrics, The Brody School of Medicine
Pediatric Healthy Weight Research & Treatment Center


girls receiving instructions on the field


 


Associates

Associates of the Pediatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center are individuals at East Carolina University, in the community and in the region who are concerned about and working to address childhood obesity and who want to stay abreast of what is happening both here and across the state. The center has more than 80 Associates including ECU faculty, researchers, health professionals and community members.

Find out more about our Associates with interests in:

Basic Science
Clinical
Community
General Health / Wellness
Mental / Behavioral Health
Nutrition
Physical Activity
Schools
Other
View a list of all Associates

Become an Associate

The Pediatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center is continuing to accept applications for Associates.

If you are interested in applying to become an Associate, contact Yancey Crawford at crawfordy@ecu.edu for more information, or download a copy of the application form here.



 

Basic Science

Terry Jones, PhD
Dr. Jones is a faculty member in the ECU Department of Physical Therapy. Her research interests is in hormones related to appetite, satiety and insulin sensitivity and how they are altered by weight gain/loss and interventions (diet, exercise, etc.) in children and adolescents. The methods she uses to measure circulating hormone levels from blood samples include multiplex immunoassays and ELISA.

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Clinical

Check back at a later date for profiles of Associates with clinical expertise and interests.

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Community

Check back at a later date for profiles of Associates with community-based expertise and interests.

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General Health/ Wellness

Check back at a later date for profiles of Associates with general health/wellness interests.

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Mental/ Behavioral Health

Angela Lamson, PhD
Dr. Lamson is the Program Director for the Medical Family Therapy Program at ECU and an Associate Professor in the Department of Child Development and Family Studies. She is an AAMFT Clinical Member and Approved Supervisor as well as a NC licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has collaborated with the Pediatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center to provide Medical Family Therapy interns at the Pediatric Healthy Weight Clinic for the past several years. Her research interests include integrative and collaborative practices, compassion fatigue among care providers, Alzheimer's disease, and the influence of trauma, illness and loss on family members and providers.

Paul Toriello, RhD, CRC, LCAS, CCS
Dr. Toriello is a faculty member in the ECU Department of Rehabilitation Studies. His primary research interest is in therapeutic engagement with clients/patients who are resistant or ambivalent about change. As an empirically supported strategy for addressing resistance/ambivalence, Dr. Toriello has been training and researching "Motivational Interviewing" for over 10 years.

Cecelia Valrie, PhD
Dr. Valrie is a faculty member in the ECU Psychology Department. Her research focuses on the influence of sleep, development, and socio-cultural factors on physiological and behavioral indicators of health in children, adolescents and young adults with a chronic illness. She is also interested in exploring these issues with ethnic-minority children and adolescents.

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Nutrition

Nancy Harris, MS, RD, LDN
Nancy Harris is a clinical dietitian in the ECU Department of Nutrition and Dietetics. She has worked as a registered, licensed dietitian providing nutrition care and education for acute and chronic diagnoses for hospitalized inpatient, ambulatory outpatient, medical school, private practice, dialysis and residential care facilities. Specifically related to pediatric weight management, she has worked with Growing Up Fit! and KIDPOWER grant supported programs as well as the nutrition component of ECU's Camp Golden Treasures. She was a pediatric dietitian with the ECU Department of Pediatrics and has also worked with camps for children with congenital heart disease, diabetes, cancer and sickle cell. Her expertise is primarily related to service delivery.

Linda Kean, PhD
Dr. Kean is a faculty member in the ECU School of Communication, with a focus on health communication. She is interested in how the media presents messages about food consumption and the effects those messages have on media consumers. She is specifically interested in looking at media literacy as an intervening variable.

Kathy Kolasa, PhD, RD, LDN
Kathy Kolasa is a professor in the ECU Department of Family Medicine. She has more than 30 years experience in projects focused on applied nutrition, eating habits and nutrition education in school-based and child care settings, nutrition education for nutrition staff and teachers, nutrition interventions in clinical settings and evaluation of nutrition education and dietary interventions.

Bonnie Lesko-Franklin, RD, LDN
Bonnie Lesko has worked in Public Health and WIC programs for 11 years. She also has experience with Medicaid reimbursable nutrition services for high risk pregnant women and pediatric patients. She is rostered in NC to submit Children's Special Health Services (CSHS) applications for children with special needs. She completed NC Lactation Educator Training in 2004 and has experience in culinary arts and hospitality management.

Donna Ware, MS
Donna Ware has a BS and MS in Home Economics Education and a BS in Institutional Management. She is a certified School Nutrition Specialist. She has worked with Pitt County Schools as the Child Nutrition Director for over 34 years. Ms. Ware has also served as the Fit Together Grant Coordinator for Pitt County Schools and the Health Promotions Coordinator at the Pitt County Farmers Market. She has also done contract work for Pate-Dawson Company in Goldsboro NC to promote cooperative purchasing for the Child Nutrition Program in North Carolina. Her areas of interest are getting children to eat healthier and consume more fruits and vegetables and in promoting fresh fruits and vegetables at the Farmers Market.

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Physical Activity

Katrina DuBose, PhD
Dr. DuBose is a physical activity epidemiologist in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science and has an adjunct appointment in the Department of Family Medicine, Brody School of Medicine. Her research interests are in the area of pediatric obesity and metabolic syndrome. A secondary interest is physical activity measurement using activity monitors and questionnaires. Dr. DuBose also has experience working with and managing large data sets such as NHANES.

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Schools

Donna Ware, MS
Donna Ware has a BS and MS in Home Economics Education and a BS in Institutional Management. She is a certified School Nutrition Specialist. She has worked with Pitt County Schools as the Child Nutrition Director for over 34 years. Ms. Ware has also served as the Fit Together Grant Coordinator for Pitt County Schools and the Health Promotions Coordinator at the Pitt County Farmers Market. She has also done contract work for Pate-Dawson Company in Goldsboro, NC to promote cooperative purchasing for the Child Nutrition Program in North Carolina. Her areas of interest are getting children to eat healthier and consume more fruits and vegetables and in promoting fresh fruits and vegetables at the Farmers Market.

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Other

Linda Kean, PhD
Dr. Kean is a faculty member in the ECU School of Communication, with a focus on health communication. She is interested in how the media presents messages about food consumption and the effects those messages have on media consumers. She is specifically interested in looking at media literacy as an intervening variable.

Cecelia Valrie, PhD
Dr. Valrie is a faculty member in the ECU Psychology Department. Her research focuses on the influence of sleep, development, and socio-cultural factors on physiological and behavioral indicators of health in children, adolescents and young adults with a chronic illness. She is also interested in exploring these issues with ethnic-minority children and adolescents.

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List of All Associates

Rebecca Allen Davis, MA
Eric Bailey, PhD, MA, MPH
Hisham Barakat, PhD
Craig Becker, PhD
Kristen Borre, PhD, MA, MPH
William Chapman, MD
David Collier, MD, PhD
Nelson Cooper, PhD
Keith Corder, MSEd, MS
Kay Craven, MPH, RD, LDN, CDE
Yancey Crawford, MPH
Doyle (Skip) Cummings, PharmD
Chip Davis
Lynis Dohm, PhD
Katrina DuBose, PhD
Melani Duffrin, PhD, RD, LDN
Peter Farrell, PhD
Evelyn Farrior, PhD, RD, LDN, FADA
Meranda Frutiger, RD, LDN
Amy Gross-McMillan, PhD, PT
Glenn Harris, MD
Nancy Harris, MS, RD, LDN
Kimberly Heidal, PhD, RD, LDN
Robin High, MPA, RD, LDN
Jennifer Hodgson, PhD, LMFT
Joe Houmard, PhD
Abigail Jewkes, PhD
Amy Jones, BS
Terry Jones, PhD
Linda Kean, PhD
Alice Keene, MAEd
Kathy Kolasa, PhD, RD, LDN
Angela Lamson, PhD, LMFT, CFLE
Suzanne Lazorick, MD, MPH
Joanne Lee, MPH, RD, LDN
Haiyong Liu, PhD
Matt Mahar, EdD

Sharon Mangan, MD
Linda May, PhD
Mike McCammon, MA
Catherine Nelson, MPA
Andrea Nikolai, MPH, RD
John Olsson, MD
Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, PhD
Mary Lisa Pories, MSW, LCSW
Walter Pories, MD
Tom Raedeke, PhD
Laurie Reed, RN
Melissa Roupe, RN, MSN
Carmen Russoniello, PhD
Chelsea Salisbury
Terry Senne, PhD
Edward Seidel, PhD
Peggy Sessoms, RD, LDN
Kindal Shores, PhD
Allison Swart, MPH
Suzanne Sparrow, MPH, CCRC
Jackie Sugg, RD, LDN
Catherine Sullivan, MPH, RD, LDN
Natalie Taft, MS, RD, LDN
Bob Thompson, PhD
Deborah Thomson, PhD
Paul Toriello, PhD, CRC, LCAC, CCS 
Cecelia Valrie, PhD
Elizabeth Wall-Bassett, PhD, RD
Michelle Wallen, PhD, MPH
Carrie Waller, MD
Donna Ware, MS, RD, LDN
Lauren Whetstone, PhD
David White, EdD
Charles Willson, MD
Chris Wingard, PhD
Mary Ellen Wojtasiewicz, PhD, RN

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