Meet the fellows

elizabeth_adams21Elizabeth Adams is a PhD student studying Nutritional Sciences under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer Savage Williams. She graduated with a BA in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, concentration in Exercise Physiology, from the University of Florida in 2013. In 2015, she received her MS in Kinesiology from the University of Connecticut where she worked as the Assistant Director of Elite Athlete Health and Performance at the Korey Stringer Institute. Her research interests include the development interdisciplinary nutrition and exercise-focused interventions aimed at the role of energy balance on the prevention of childhood obesity, specifically within the first 1000 days of life.

Shana Adisshanae received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (cognitive neuroscience) from the City College of New York. Her research interests are focused on understanding the how decision-making, specifically mechanisms of self-control and reward, impact food choices. Her future goals are to continue conducting research in an academic environment.

Katherine Balantekin, RD, PhD earned her PhD in Nutritional Sciences and a minor in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State in 2015. kbalantekinIn 2011, she earned a MS in Clinical Nutrition from the University at Buffalo, where she also completed her dietetic internship, and is a licensed registered dietitian. Previously, she earned a BA in Biology with a program of study in Nutrition from Cornell University in 2008. Katherine is interested in the development and stability of maladaptive eating behaviors and weight control strategies during childhood and adolescence, concentrating on parental influences and individual difference risk factors. Katherine is currently a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Washington University School of Medicine.

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Julia Bleser, MS, MSPH, earned her MS in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State in 2015. Previously, she earned her MS in Public Health in Health Education and Health Communication from Johns Hopkins University in 2011, and a BS in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies from the University of Southern California in 2009. Julia is currently a Research & Evaluation Associate for the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at The Pennsylvania State University. At the Clearinghouse, she contributes to projects that draw on her background in health promotion, obesity prevention and weight management, and prevention science.

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Allison Doub Hepworth, MS is a PhD student in Human Development and Family Studies minoring in Nutrition and Information Sciences and Technology. She completed her MS in Human Development and Family Studies in Spring 2015. She earned a BS in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University in 2010 and worked as a research assistant at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine prior to returning to Penn State for a graduate degree. Allison’s research focuses on how parents use the Internet and new media to obtain information about nutrition and parenting.

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Sally Eagleton is a doctoral student studying Nutritional Sciences under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer Savage Williams. She graduated with a BS in psychology from the University of Tampa in 2009. She obtained her MS in human development and family science from Oklahoma State University in 2015 where she worked in the Center for Family Resilience and collaborated extensively with the Oklahoma State University-Center for Health Sciences. Her research interests include family-based childhood obesity prevention in the first few years of life, with a particular focus on how family-level factors commonly associated with poverty influence child feeding and the development of obesity.

Laural

Laural Kelly English, PhD earned her PhD in Nutritional Sciences from Penn State in 2016. As a graduate student, Laural was a research assistant in the Metabolic Kitchen and Children’s Eating Behavior Laboratory directed by Dr. Kathleen Keller. Previously, she earned her B.S (2005) in Neuroscience from Allegheny College. After obtaining her M.S (2010) in Nutrition at Meredith College, she was a guest speaker on eating disorder prevention and taught a graduate course, Obesity and Weight Management. She currently focuses on the neural mechanisms of eating behavior in children. Her interests include the relationship between mental health and weight status, development of eating disorders and association of obesity with depression. Her long-term goals include professionally speaking and teaching.

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S. Nicole Fearnbach, PhD earned her PhD in Nutritional Sciences and a minor in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State in 2016. As a graduate student, she worked in the Metabolic Kitchen and Children’s Eating Behavior Lab under the direction of Dr. Kathleen Keller. Before coming to Penn State, Nicole earned her BS in Exercise Science from Florida State University in 2012, with minors in Psychology, Chemistry, and Biomedical Physics. Her research focuses on the neural, behavioral, and physiological mechanisms underlying energy balance in children, including the impact of exercise on food intake. Nicole will continue her line of research as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

BrittanyBrittany James, MS is a PhD student in Nutritional Sciences currently holds a MS in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University. She earned a BA in Psychology & Neuroscience from Duke University in 2009 and worked as a research assistant at the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center in Providence, RI for two years before moving to Penn State for graduate school. Brittany’s research interests center on adulthood obesity and the behavioral and psychological underpinnings of weight loss success and weight gain prevention.

samSamantha Kling, PhD earned her PhD in Nutritional Sciences from Penn State in 2016. As a graduate student, she worked in the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior. Her mentor was Dr. Barbara Rolls. Prior to coming to Penn State, Samantha earned a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics with a minor in psychology from Iowa State University in 2011. During her undergraduate studies, Samantha worked with Dr. Lorraine Lanningham-Foster to complete her honors research project, which tested the effects of an active gaming intervention on weight gain in college freshmen. Samantha’s interests include the effects of portion size, energy density, and beverages on preschool children’s eating behavior. Samantha is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Obesity at the Obesity Institute of the Geisinger Health System.

JacindaJacinda Li, MS is a PhD student in Human Development and Family Studies. She earned her MS in Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State University in Fall 2014. She earned her BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2011 with a Minor in Nutrition, and worked in Fortune 100 companies and volunteered in socioeconomically-disadvantaged communities prior to coming to Penn State. Jacinda’s research focuses on the causal pathways for the development of obesity in survivors of childhood maltreatment and in non-maltreated individuals in adverse contexts (i.e. poverty). Her long term goal is to translate the basic research findings to advance a more developmentally- and trauma-informed approach to prevention and treatment programs for childhood and adulthood obesity.

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Travis Masterson is from Alpine, Utah. He has a BS in Exercise and Wellness and a Master’s degree in Exercise Science from BYU. He worked previously at BYU’s weight loss facility as the Director of Training and Assessments.  He is currently pursuing his PhD in Nutritional Sciences at Penn State. His research is focused on understanding how children’s environments and daily activities can effect their eating behavior and responsiveness to food cues through specialized tools such as fMRI.

kameronKameron Moding, PhD earned her PhD in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State in 2016. She received her BA in psychology from Colorado College in 2010 and her MS in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University in 2013. Her master’s thesis focused on how infant temperament and parenting behaviors contribute to infants’ acceptance and rejection of new foods. Kameron is currently studying how child characteristics, such as temperament and self-regulation, interact with parent feeding styles and strategies to predict weight gain during infancy and early childhood. Kameron is currently a postdoctoral fellow at University of Colorado Denver – Anschutz Medical Campus Department of Pediatrics, working with Dr. Susan Johnson.

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Chelsea Rose, PhD earned her PhD in Nutritional Sciences with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State in 2015. Previously, she earned a BA in Anthropology from Bucknell University in 2011. Dr. Rose is currently a research coordinator for the Seattle Obesity Study III. at the University of Washington.

Nicole

Nicole Roberts, MS is a graduate student in Human Development and Family Studies.  She earned a BA in psychology from Westminster College in 2009, and an MS in health psychology from the University of Bath, England in 2010.  She worked as a research specialist and clinic examiner for the University of Pittsburgh prior to coming to Penn State.  Nicole’s research focuses on cognitive behavioral neuroscience, and the relationship between adolescent brain development and facets of decision-making, particularly reward sensitivity and impulsivity, and how this relationship influences food choice behavior.  She is also interested in the application of fMRI with formal computational and economic models (neuroeconomics) to increase our understanding of neurocognitive processes underlying decision-making.

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Alissa Smethers, MS, RD is a PhD Candidate in Nutritional Sciences. She earned her BS in Biology with a minor in Communication from Juniata College in 2009. She then earned her MS in Nutrition at Marywood University in 2012, where she also completed the Coordinated Dietetic Internship Program in Nutrition and Dietetics. Alissa worked as a Clinical Dietitian for 2 years before returning to work on research. Her current research focuses on obesity prevention in children with emphasis on portion size and energy density. Her future goals are to continue research and teach in an academic environment.

alyssaspawAlyssa Spaw is a PhD student in Nutritional Sciences in the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior under mentor Dr. Barbara Rolls. She earned her BS in Psychology with a Neuroscience emphasis from Pennsylvania State University in 2015. Her research interests are the psychological mechanisms behind successful weight loss, portion size choice, and how energy density in the standard American diet influences weight regulation and weight loss in human populations.

Wendy Stein, MS earned her Master’s degree in Nutritional Sciences with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies in 2015. Previously, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences and Psychology from Michigan State University in 2012. Wendy’s research focused on the influence of food marketing on children’s food intake and strategies to increase children’s vegetable consumption. Wendy currently works as the Regulatory & Policy Coordinator in Global Scientific and Regulatory Affairs at The Coca-Cola Company.

fzFaris Zuraikat received his B.A. in psychology from St. Bonaventure University. He is interested in studying how the built food environment, satiety, and food qualities, such as portion size and energy density, can influence eating behaviors and energy intake in adults and children. His current research examines factors that may influence eating in response to increases in meal portion size. He came to Penn State as a Graham Fellow and Fund for Excellence in Graduate Recruitment award winner.


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