Collaborators
Melanie Bean, PhD, LCP
Co-Director, Healthy Lifestyles Center
Associate Professor, VCU Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Bean is a pediatric psychologist, Professor of Pediatrics, and Co-Director of the Healthy Lifestyles Center at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. She and Dr. LaRose are actively collaborating on Hydrate RPS, which is a multilevel intervention to promote healthy hydration for elementary school students in Richmond Public Schools. Dr. Bean was also a Co-Investigator on our REACH trial and Dr. LaRose is a Co-Investigator on her ongoing TEENS+ trial, which is testing the comparative efficacy of two distinct approaches to parental involvement within the context of adolescent weight management.
Anika Hines, PhD
Assistant Professor, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy
Dr. Hines is a health equity scholar whose work is focused on chronic stress within the context of neighborhoods and the broader social environment, with the goal of designing multilevel interventions to eliminate racial disparities. She is a faculty member in the Department of Health Behavior and Policy, and Co-Investigator on our recent HER2 and Ready SET Health trials, as well as our current BMI Project trial. Dr. LaRose also serves as mentor on her DYNAMIC and DYNAMIC moms studies.
Tricia Leahey, PhD
Professor, University of Connecticut Department of Allied Health Sciences
Co-Director, UConn Weight Management Research Group
Dr. Leahey is a tenured Professor at the University of Connecticut, where she directs the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP). She and Dr. LaRose have a longstanding history of collaboration. Dr. Leahey was a Co-Investigator on our REACH trial, and on Dr. LaRose is a Co-Investigator on her ongoing RISE trial, which is testing a novel behavioral economics mHealth intervention for long-term weight loss in economically disadvantaged adults.
Maghboeba Mosavel, PhD
Professor, VCU Department of Health Behavior and Policy
Dr. Mosavel is a health disparities scholar and expert in community-based participatory research. She is a tenured Professor and Associate Vice President of Community Partnerships at VCU. She and Dr. LaRose have a longstanding history of collaboration spanning more than a decade, specifically conducting community-engaged research focused on promoting health and wellness in Petersburg, VA. In collaboration with their community partners and advisory board, they are currently MPIs on Wellness Engagement Petersburg, which is a cluster randomized controlled trial testing a multilevel, grassroots lifestyle intervention to promote cardiometabolic health among Petersburg residents.
Robert Perera, PhD
Associate Professor, VCU Department of Biostatistics
Dr. Perera is a biostatistican specializing in analysis and design of clinical trials, longitudinal data analysis, and psychological/behavioral measurement. He was a Co-Investigator on our recently completed HER2 and Ready SET Health trials and is also a Co-Investigator on two ongoing trials—Wellness Engagement Petersburg and the BMI Project.
Arnethea Sutton, PhD
Assistant Professor, VCU Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Dr. Sutton is a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at VCU. She has expertise in identifying multilevel factors that contribute to racial inequities and racial disparities in cancer and is a Co-Investigator on our ongoing AYA WELL trial.
Deborah Tate, PhD
Director, Communication for Health Applications and Intervention (CHAI) Core
Professor, UNC Chapel Hill Departments of Health Behavior and Nutrition
Dr. Tate is a tenured Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she directs the CHAI core and UNC Weight Research Program. She and Dr. LaRose have a longstanding history of collaboration, including on the SNAP and REACH trials. She is also a Co-Investigator on our ongoing AYA WELL trial.
Carmina Valle, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, UNC Chapel Hill Department of Nutrition
Dr. Valle is a faculty member in the Department of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a behavioral scientist whose program of research is focused on eliminating cancer disparities. She and Dr. LaRose Dr. LaRose are currently MPIs on the AYA WELL trial, which is an mHealth lifestyle intervention designed specifically for adolescent and young adult cancer survivors.
Edmond "Trey" Wickham, MD, MPH
Director of Research, Healthy Lifestyles Center
Associate Professor, VCU Department of Internal Medicine
Dr. Wickham is a board-certified endocrinologist with expertise in the pathophysiology of obesity across the lifespan, and Co-Director of the Healthy Lifestyles Center at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. He is a Co-Investigator on our BMI Project trial.