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Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences

Obesity, Nutrition, and Physical Activity

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Obesity, Nutrition, and Physical Activity

Studying behaviors that guide our eating habits and physical activity.

Areas of Focus

  • Multilevel community-based interventions
  • Identification of social, cognitive, and affective mediators and moderators of intervention effects
  • Sophisticated statistical modeling of behavior change
  • Issues related to dissemination of efficacious interventions

Our faculty research obesity, nutrition (including breastfeeding) and physical activity. Faculty research in this area involves multilevel community-based interventions, with a particular focus on enhancing health equity and reducing racial and ethnic disparities for underserved populations.

Faculty

  • Ahluwalia

    Jasjit Ahluwalia

    Professor
    Jasjit_Ahluwalia@brown.edu
  • Tayla von Ash

    Tayla von Ash

    Assistant Professor
    Tayla_Ash@brown.edu
  • Tanya J Benitez

    Tanya Benitez

    Assistant Professor (Research)
    Tanya_Benitez@brown.edu
  • Beth Bock

    Beth Bock

    Professor of Psychiatry & Human Behavior
    Beth_Bock@Brown.edu
  • Bohlen

    Lauren Bohlen

    Assistant Professor
    Lauren_Bohlen@brown.edu
  • Judson Brewer

    Judson Brewer

    Professor
    Judson_Brewer@brown.edu
  • Dunsiger

    Shira Dunsiger

    Associate Professor (Research)
    Shira_Dunsiger@brown.edu
  • Guthrie

    Kate Guthrie

    Professor of Psychiatry & Human Behavior
    Kate_Guthrie@brown.edu
  • Bess Marcus

    Bess Marcus

    Professor
    bess_marcus@brown.edu
  • Cara Murphy

    Cara Murphy

    Assistant Professor
    Cara_Murphy@brown.edu
  • Amy Nunn

    Amy Nunn

    Professor, Executive Director, RI Public Health Institute
    Amy_Nunn@brown.edu
  • Risica

    Patricia Risica

    Associate Professor, Director of the Undergraduate Public Health Concentration
    Patricia_Risica@Brown.edu
  • Sacheck

    Jennifer Sacheck

    Professor, Chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences
    jennifer_sacheck@brown.edu
  • Stroud

    Laura Stroud

    Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Laura_stroud@brown.edu
  • Shufang Sun

    Shufang Sun

    Assistant Professor, Associate Director of the Mindfulness Center
    Shufang_Sun@brown.edu
  • Tovar

    Alison Tovar

    Associate Professor, Interim Director of CHPHE
    Alison_Tovar@brown.edu
  • David Williams

    David Williams

    Professor, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
    David_M_Williams@brown.edu

Affiliated Research Centers and Labs

Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine

Works to discover new and improved health promotion and disease management approaches, focusing on the role of human behavior in health and disease.
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Recent News

See more
May 5, 2025 News from CHPHE

Doctoral Student Publishes Innovative Research on Online Recruitment and Data Integrity in Public Health Nutrition Study

Doctoral student Emily Elenio is tackling one of the biggest challenges in digital public health research today: securing the integrity of online survey data. In her innovative work on the "What’s On Your Plate" study, she sets new standards for recruiting under-resourced populations while defending against bots and fraudulent responses.
December 13, 2024 News from CHPHE

Spotlight on food insecurity: insights from the RI Life Index 2024 launch event

On December 11, Dr. Alison Tovar, director of the Brown University School of Public Health’s Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity, joined the Rhode Island Life Index 2024 launch event as a panelist to discuss the pressing issue of food insecurity.
October 16, 2024 News from CHPHE

Tayla von Ash awarded $3.5M federal grant to advance health equity through youth sports intervention

von Ash, assistant professor of behavioral and social sciences, was awarded the NIH R01 grant, which totals $3.5M over five years.
Brown University School of Public Health
Providence RI 02903 401-863-3375 public_health@brown.edu

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