I am an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and a Researcher in the InfantRisk Center at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). I also serve as Assistant Vice President of Research at TTUHSC, a position where I am empowered to identify needs of researcher and implement strategies to strengthen the research environment. Prior to my doctoral studies, I gleaned clinical experience working as a Pediatric Dietitian at UC San Francisco Children’s Hospital and am also a Certified Lactation Counselor. My clinical background, training, and experience with a broad range of research methods allow me to investigate research questions from a variety of perspectives and methods, and my leadership experience strengthens my capacity as a researcher.
Transdisciplinary collaborations across obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry, pharmacology, nutrition, public health, and community engagement facilitate addressing a range of research questions relevant to communities. My experience with a variety of types of research methods, including formative qualitative research, intervention studies, and implementation science, have been applied to these projects to understand and improve factors affecting health behaviors and maternal and child health outcomes. These methods also provide a solid foundation from which a variety of research questions may be addressed to improve health and address disparities.
Recent and current research projects include studies to understand experiences and decision-making related to nutrition and care among perinatal individuals and their healthcare providers, interventions to address maternal mental health and food insecurity, and implementation science to understand and address maternal health disparities. In addition to publishing peer reviewed research, I am the author of two UpToDate topics on Nutrition in Pregnancy, and recently authored a chapter titled “Nutrition in Pregnancy” that will soon be published in the 13th Edition of Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. I have also served as an invited speaker at national and international conferences.
Interests
- Breastfeeding
- Children's health
- Diet
- Lactation
- Neonatal
- Nutrition
- Obesity
- Pediatrics
- Perinatal
- Pregnancy
- Prenatal
- Research
- Women's health