Research Interests for Patients

I have 40 years of experience with conducting and supervising projects that span the range of T1 to T4 research. My research has included studies with both invertebrate and vertebrate animals in addition to human subjects. I also have combined my research and teaching experience to lead several graduate and post-graduate training programs. My research in basic sciences and understanding nutritional biochemistry and my experience in low, middle and high-income countries translate well to working with young investigators. My T1 animal research has included studies on the development of the implantable defibrillator, how vitamin E can reduce the impact of radiation therapy on wound healing and the impact of roundworm infections on nutrient absorption. T2 research studies have included randomized trials of food and nutrient supplementation. I have focused on ways to screen for vitamin A deficiency in low income countries and I have worked on hospital-based effectiveness studies on decreasing mother-to-child HIV transmission with a focus on Nevirapine intervention and infant feeding practices. My T3 and T4 research studies have used epidemiological methods to evaluate public health interventions and to analyze large data sets on breastfeeding practices related to child growth and community-based trials with food supplementation as part of food aid programs and trials on how to best provide low-dose vitamin A supplements to night blind pregnant women through district-level clinics in Nepal and the evaluation of a solar powered drip irrigation system on improving the nutritional status of mothers and children in Benin. More recently my research has focused on nutritional factors associated with the development of type 2 diabetes in children including the presence of acanthosis nigricans and how to screen and manage children with disabilities living in low income countries. I have been involved and led a variety of innovative curricula for public health practitioners. I received an R25 NIH award to implement and evaluate an integrated nutrition curriculum for medical education. I was a faculty member on the NIH PRIDE grant (#1R25HL126140) at the University of Arizona. I was the director for several HRSA funded training programs including a distance-learning maternal and child health (MCH) Certificate Program, an online training related to alcohol and tobacco within the MCH population, and a School of Public Health MCH Leadership Program. I also was the PI for a USAID grant to create the first bi-national public health certificate program in conjunction with El Colegio de Sonora. I created and led as the director, the Western Region Public Health Training Center for HRSA Region 9 that supports workforce development in Arizona, Nevada, California, Hawaii and the US Associated Pacific Islands that include the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. The WRPHTC also has received additional HRSA funds to train nurses to become certified forensic sexual nurse examiners (SANEs). Together, these programs have used a variety of approaches for student and professional continuing education. My work to nudge research directions and disseminate science to practice has occurred by being the guest editor for a supplement to Public Health Nutrition (2003, Volume 5, Issue 6a) for chairing and publishing the findings from the 4th International Conference on Dietary Assessment Methods. I have also published opinions on issues related to Infant feeding and HIV transmission (Taren 2000) and responded to the WHO/FAO Global Report on Diet, Nutrition and Non-communicable Diseases (Taren 2003). I also co-edited the 3rd Edition of Nutrition and Health in Developing World (Humana Press, 2017). Currently, I am the editor-in-chief for Nutrition Reviews, a highly cited monthly, international, peer-reviewed journal that specializes in the publication of authoritative and critical literature reviews on current and emerging topics in nutrition science, food science, clinical nutrition, and nutrition policy.