Source: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS submitted to
ILLINOIS TRANSDISCIPLINARY OBESITY PREVENTION PROGRAM (I-TOPP)
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0224322
Grant No.
2011-67001-30101
Cumulative Award Amt.
$4,500,000.00
Proposal No.
2010-04886
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Feb 1, 2011
Project End Date
Jan 31, 2017
Grant Year
2014
Program Code
[A2121]- Childhood Obesity Prevention: Transdisciplinary Graduate Education and Training in Nutrition and Family Sciences or Child Development or Related Fields to Prevent Childhood Obesity
Project Director
Donovan, S. M.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
2001 S. Lincoln Ave.
URBANA,IL 61801
Performing Department
Nutritional Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Over the past 30 years the prevalence of overweight and obesity has doubled in preschool aged children (2-5 years) and tripled in children aged 6-11. Today, 12.5 million U.S. children are overweight, including 1-in-8 preschool children. The State of Illinois currently ranks 4th in the nation in childhood obesity for children between 10- and 17-years-of-age, representing one of the states with the fastest growing rates of obesity in the nation. The rising obesity prevalence in children and adolescents is of particular concern because of its negative effects on morbidity and mortality in young adulthood and the fact that few obese children become normal weight adults. Given these dire statistics, development of effective strategies for prevention of overweight and weight reduction, if needed, has become a public health priority. However, to solve complex public health problems such as obesity, transdisciplinary teams of investigators from a variety of fields are needed to develop new methods, theories and conceptual models that integrate varied disciplinary perspectives. Transdisciplinarity is a new approach to research and problem solving. The core concept is that researchers, practitioners and stakeholders must cooperate in order to address the complex challenges of society. Transdisciplinarity is an approach to stimulate connections and synergies across many levels of influence, including the intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community and societal. Our goal is to establish an innovative transdisciplinary research-based PhD/MPH degree program. Through an integrated program of education, research and practicum/internship experience focused on obesity prevention, the Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I-TOPP) will: 1)Educate a cohort of 8 PhD/MPH students in an innovative, multifaceted, transdisciplinary program of study; 2)Provide I-TOPP scholars with technical and functional competencies required to conduct research on the multifactorial factors that influence excessive weight gain in children and to develop and test effective transdisciplinary interventions to prevent childhood obesity; and 3)Assess how the educational process impacts transdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs, which will be assessed using established measures longitudinally and relative to PhD and MPH students at the University of Illinois, who are not participating in the proposed transdisciplinary research program. The established research programs of the preceptors, excellent reputation of the doctoral trainning programs, a MPH program focused on chronic disease prevention, and the outstanding intellectual environment at the University of Illinois combine to form an ideal climate in which to train future leaders. We anticipate that graduates of this program will be uniquely positioned to take leadership roles in academic, medical, non-profit and governmental institutions by providing expertise in population-based transdisciplinary approaches to childhood obesity prevention.
Animal Health Component
75%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
75%
Developmental
25%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
70360101010100%
Knowledge Area
703 - Nutrition Education and Behavior;

Subject Of Investigation
6010 - Individuals;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;
Goals / Objectives
The Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I-TOPP) program is a Standard Education Grant that aims to establish a new transdisciplinary PhD/MPH degree program focused on childhood obesity prevention at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Through an integrated program of education, research and practicum/internship experience, this proposal aims to: 1) Establish an innovative research-based PhD/MPH degree program that uses a transdisciplinary approach to integrate nutrition, physical activity, public health science, family science, human development, economics and interdisciplinary public health practice with a focus on obesity prevention and child health and wellbeing; 2) Educate a cohort of 8 PhD/MPH transdisciplinary obesity scholars with the theoretical and functional competencies as well as team-based approaches required to conduct research on the behavioral factors that influence excessive weight gain in children and to develop and test effective transdisciplinary interventions to prevent childhood obesity; and 3) Assess how the educational process impacts transdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs, which will be assessed using established measures longitudinally and in comparison to PhD and MPH students at the University of Illinois, who are not participating in I-TOPP. Additional outputs from I-TOPP will include: 1) Broader cross-disciplinary interactions between University of Illinois faculty and international leaders through the Visiting Faculty Program and the Lecture Series; 2) Dissemination of results of PhD/MPH scholars research though conference presentations, publications in peer reviewed journals and the annual Spring Conference; and 3) National conference presentations and publications in peer reviewed journals resulting from our assessment of how the educational process impacts the student's interdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs. The established research programs of the preceptors, excellent reputation of the doctoral training programs, an MPH program focused on chronic disease prevention, and the outstanding intellectual environment at the University of Illinois combine to form an ideal climate in which to train future leaders. We anticipate that graduates of this program will be uniquely positioned to take leadership roles in academic, medical, non-profit and governmental institutions by providing expertise in population-based transdisciplinary approaches to childhood obesity prevention.
Project Methods
The Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Department of Human and Community Development will work together with the Masters of Public Health program to establish an innovative research-based PhD/MPH degree program that uses a transdisciplinary approach to integrate nutrition, physical activity, public health science, family science, human development, economics and interdisciplinary public health practice with a focus on obesity prevention and child health and wellbeing. We will educate a cohort of 8 PhD/MPH transdisciplinary obesity scholars with the theoretical and functional competencies as well as team-based approaches required to conduct research on the behavioral factors that influence excessive weight gain in children and to develop and test effective transdisciplinary interventions to prevent childhood obesity. In addition, we will assess how the educational process impacts transdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs, which will be assessed using established measures longitudinally and in comparison to PhD and MPH students at the University of Illinois, who are not participating in I-TOPP.

Progress 02/01/11 to 01/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience: From the training perspective, the target audience is the eleven I-TOPP scholars engaged in the joint PhD/MPH degree program (8 are funded by the NIFA grant and 3 by the University of Illinois through matching funds). Of the eleven scholars, 3 are Hispanic, 2 are Asian, 2 are multiracial, and 2 are economically disadvantaged. For the lecture series, visiting lecture program and biennial symposium, the target audience includes faculty and students of the university, leading childhood obesity researchers, local and state authorities and policymakers, child care providers, health/medical personnel, and various community members who benefit from the sharing of information. For the transdisciplinary education assessment, the target audiences are grant funding agencies, other academic institutions, and faculty. From the research perspective, the target audiences include other researchers, Extension educators, and ultimately the public who will benefit from new discoveries and programs. Changes/Problems: We anticipated a delay in completing all grant expenditures and we obtained a one year no-cost-extension so the grant period was extended to 6-years. The delay was due to the timing of the award being in the middle of the academic year. Therefore the first cohort of 3 scholars was not recruited until Fall 2011, 6 months after the award began. The second cohort of 3 scholars began in Fall 2012, 18 months after the award date, and the third cohort of 5 of scholars began in Fall 2013. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Dissertation Research: Eight current I-TOPP scholars are making excellent progress in their academic training and research. Each are immersed in their respective labs and are collecting and analyzing data related to their individual projects. The other 3 have finished their dissertation research; 1 completed the dual degree and is doing a year-long dietetic internship prior to graduating in 2017 (Robinson-Paige) and 2 have graduated are now postdoctoral research associates in the Department of Pediatrics at theUniversity of Minnesota (Christoph) and in the Department of Psychology at Northeastern University in Boston(Raine). Mary Christoph (Advisors: B. Ellison and H. Klonoff-Cohen) completed her dissertation titled "Nutrition label use in college students: An examination of predictors, the impact of label placement, and the relationship between label use and dietary quality" and Lauren Raine (Advisor: C. Hillman) deposited her dissertation titled "Obesity, visceral adipose tissue, and cognition in childhood". Katie Robinson-Paige's (M. Teran-Garcia and S. Donovan) research focuses on gene-environment interactions, specifically the impact of genes related to immunity and adiposity and their interactions with the diet. Natasha Cole (Advisors: S. Donovan and S.Y. Lee) is examining the role of nature (genetics) and nurture relationship (parental feeding styles) and picky eating. Anneliese Feld (Advisors: B. Fiese and K. Bost) is evaluating the impact of state laws and administrative structures on participation rates of recipients in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Roger Figueroa (Advisor: A. Wiley) is studying physical activity promotion in preschool-aged children. Jaclyn Saltzman (Advising: B. Fiese) is exploring the role that emotion regulation plays in the relationship between disordered eating and family mealtime interactions. Maria Pineros-Leano (Advisor: J. Liechty) is examining the relationship between mothers' depression and the risk for developing obesity in Latino children. Julia Kim (Advisor: S Donovan) is developing a culturally-tailored curriculum to support breastfeeding in African-American mothers as a means to promote optimal infant growth and prevention of childhood obesity. Liliana Aguayo (Advisors: A. Wiley and A. Schwingel) is examining the role of stress on childhood obesity and insulin resistance. Lastly, Jessica Jarick Metcalfe (Advisory: B. Fiese) is investigating the influence of participating in cooking on the development of children's food preferences. MPH Portion: Being a combined MPH/PhD degree program, I-TOPP supports a variety of both formal and informal educational experiences. Each I-TOPP scholar participated in a 200-hour MPH practicum experience, where they applied the knowledge acquired in the classroom to practice in clinical, community, or outreach settings, affording an opportunity to develop and apply certain competencies such as leadership ability and group process skills, political awareness and communication skills, and understanding of public and private agencies. Five of the 11 scholars elected to fulfill their Practicum requirement with University of Illinois Extension in reaching community members in surrounding counties. Three worked in hospital settings, and two in public health departments. (1 scholar already had an MPH degree). The MPH Capstone experience is a culminating project of the MPH intended to help each student integrate information and skills gained from the coursework and Practicum to address a public health issue or problem.These practical experiencesinclude implementing a child cooking program (Jarick Metcalfe), developing protocols for a pediatric bariatric program (Robinson-Paige), developed and conducted a hospital evaluation program (Saltzman), and a public health initiative to encourage breastfeeding friendly options in the community (Kim). Curricula: Eight semester-long seminar courses (NUTR590) taught by I-TOPP faculty have been held exposing the trainees to the specifics of various disciplines as they relate to childhood obesity (6 semesters), transdisciplinary research methods (1 semester), and professional development to prepare for a transdisciplinary professional career (1 semester). The scholars have taken two obesity courses (NUTR530 & 531) created specifically for this training program and a grantmanship and ethics course (NUTR550) along with theory and foundation courses. Seed Grant program. Over the whole grant period, the students and faculty have been awarded 26 seed grants to conduct research and implement interventions on a variety of topics related to childhood obesity. Six grants awarded this past year were investigating: 1) Gene-environment interaction in predicting picky eating behaviors in early childhood; 2) Bringing emotion to the table: Attachment, regulation, and mealtime responsiveness; 3) Childhood obesity prevention among Latino households and families: A randomized control trial; 4) African-American breastfeeding needs assessment using the PEN-3 cultural model; 5) Kids in the kitchen program pilot study and efficacy trial, and 6) FIESTA: Family-based International Evaluation of Salivary Telomeres and Acculturation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Teaching Experience: During the 6-year grant period, eight different I-TOPP faculty taught the I-TOPP required core courses Seminar [NUTR590], Childhood obesity [NUTR530 & 531], and Grantsmanship and Ethics [NURT550]. Program Coordinator helped coordinate NUTR590 and taught the hands-on portions ofNUTR590. All the 11 I-TOPP scholars had teaching assistantships during one or more semesters during the 6-year grant period. In the past year, they helped with courses in the departments of Kinesiology & Community Health and Food Science & Human Nutrition. Three of the I-TOPP scholars (Robinson-Paige, Jarick Metcalfe, and Pineros) have been on the University of Illinois list of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their students. Networks and Collaborations: Collaborations have developed within and outside the I-TOPP program. Scholars across disciplines have worked together to create childhood obesity intervention programs. Examples of the interventions include one aimed at increasing nutritional knowledge of grandparents and grandchildren, a middle school intervention on physical activity and the development of monthly education lessons for pregnant women and their families. The collaboration allowed by the visiting faculty program resulted in collaborations with six faculty on campus and the submission of a joint NIH grant proposal. Other examples of collaborations and networking includes: 3 I-TOPP scholars had a joint paper accepted in January 2017 that showcases collaborations within the program: Figueroa, R., Saltzman, J., Jarick, J.and Wiley, A."Child-minders and health workers' perceptions of childhood obesity in South Africa. Journal of Obesity. I-TOPP Scholar Roger Figueroa submitted a NIH R01 Minority Supplement with potential post-doc advisor (Kirsten Davison, PhD, Harvard School of Public Health) entitled Designing and evaluating an ecologically-situated family intervention that effectively engages low-income fathers in childhood obesity prevention in December 2016. This networking contact developed when Dr. Davison was one of our invited I-TOPP lecture series speakers in 2015. Roger Figueroa was also invited by David Stodden to present at the 2nd Assembly of the International Consortium on Motor Development Research, in November 2016, at the University of South Carolina. This networking opportunity was initiated when Dr. Stodden was one of our invited I-TOPP lecture series speakers in 2015. In late fall 2016, I-TOPP scholar Jaclyn Saltzman visited to interact further with our fall 2016 invited lecture Jennifer Orlet-Fisher of Temple University. Jaclyn also visited our 2015 invited lecturer Rachel Larimore at the Nature-Based Preschool in upper Michigan. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Impact: Addressing complex societal problems demands coordinated effort from many sectors, stakeholders, and disciplines. Increasingly, the concept of convergence between disciplines is viewed as a key to unlocking innovative solutions to complex global problems such as childhood obesity. Higher education plays a critical role in teaching and cultivating next generation scientists. This grant was funded to train 8 future scientists in transdisciplinary (TD) research to bring about novel ways to address grand challenges. Graduates of this program are/will be uniquely positioned to take leadership roles in academic, medical, non-profit, and governmental institutions by providing expertise in population-based TD approaches to childhood obesity prevention. Goal 1:Establish an innovative research-based PhD/MPH degree program that uses a TD approach to integrate nutrition, physical activity, public health science, family science, human development, economics, and interdisciplinary public health practice with a focus on childhood obesity prevention. The joint degree was created for students to obtain a MPH degree, and a PhD in a specific discipline. This degree is currently available to any University of Illinois student.To date, 11 students have enrolled; 10 have completed the MPH portion (the 11th enrolled with a MPH degree), 8 are completing their PhD in 2017/18, 2 graduated in 2016 and 1 completed the dual degree but is completing a 1-year dietetic internship prior to graduating in May 2017.The 2 program graduates are postdocs inPediatrics at theUniversity of Minnesota (Christoph) and in Psychology atNortheastern University in Boston (Raine). Disciplines represented by the 11 scholars are Community Health (2), Nutritional Sciences (3), Kinesiology (1), Human Development and Family Studies (4), and Social Work (1). Goal 2: Educate a cohort of 8 PhD/MPH TD obesity scholars with the theoretical and functional competencies as well as team-based approaches required to conduct research on the behavioral factors that influence excessive weight gain in children and to develop and test effective TD interventions to prevent childhood obesity. With additional internal University support, we enrolled 11 MPH/PhD scholars. 8 semester-long seminar courses (NUTR590) have been held exposing the scholars to the specifics of various disciplines as they relate to childhood obesity (6 semesters), TD research methods (1 semester), and professional development to prepare for a TD professional career (1 semester).The scholars have taken 2 obesity courses (NUTR530 & 531) created specifically for this TD program, a grantmanship and ethics course (NUTR550), andtheory and foundation courses. Scholars and faculty have applied and been awarded 26 seed grants, 6 this year, to conduct research and implement interventions related to childhood obesity. Goal 3: Assess how the educational process impacts TD attitudes, behaviors and research outputs, which will be assessed using established measures longitudinally and in comparison to traditional PhD and MPH students. To better understand the process, pitfalls, and successes of TD education, we have collected data throughout the educational process including comparison data with traditional MPH or PhD students. We are continuing to analyze this data, and have presented 3 posters at national conferences, submitted 2 papers (included in the Other Products listing) and are writing the third paper. Drs. Donovan and Liechty presented the baseline knowledge and attitudes toward a TD program during our 3rd biennial symposium (Oct 8-9, 2015). Dr. Donovan co-chaired a symposium at the 2016 Experimental Biology conference entitled "Transdisciplinary Training in Childhood Obesity Prevention: Approaches, Successes, and Challenges" where the Principal Investigators of all four obesity prevention training programs funded by USDA-NIFA in 2011 presented and discussed benefits and barriers of these types of innovative programs. Output (4) Broader cross-disciplinary interactions between University faculty and international leaders through the Visiting Faculty Program and the Lecture Series. Over the 6 year grant period, we hosted 19 invited lectures, 3 this year, covering many topics and aspects of childhood obesity prevention. In June 2016, we hosted Dr. Lisa Barnett, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, who examines motor competence in children and youth as a path to health behaviors and outcomes. In October 2016 we hosted Dr. Jennifer Orlet Fisher, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Temple University in Philadelphia. In November 2016, Dr. Laura Bellows, Food Science & Human Nutrition and Extension, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, presented her work on developing healthy eating behaviors and activity patterns in early childhood: Longitudinal findings from the Colorado LEAP Study. Through these efforts, we have enriched the campus dialogue on childhood obesity and have built collaborations with other experts focusing on childhood obesity. I-TOPP held 3 Biennial Symposiums during the grant period (2011, 2013 and 2015). The inaugural symposium focused on how to best prepare the next generation of scholars to prevent childhood obesity. The event included 4 external speakers, 4 I-TOPP faculty speakers, and a poster session. About 133 people from the university, medical, therapy, and day care communities, Extension, local newspapers, and social service agencies attended. The 2nd symposium focused on the complex origins and consequences of childhood obesity from research to practice to policy within child care and school settings. The event included 6 external speakers, 3 I-TOPP faculty speakers, andposter session (134 people attended). Our 3rd symposium on childhood obesity included a poster session, presentations from 2 invited speakers and presentations by most of the I-TOPP faculty on the benefits and barriers of this TD program. Four scholars gave oral presentations on data from their research project.The symposium was attended by over 68 participants. Output (5) Dissemination of results of PhD/MPH scholars research though conference presentations, publications in peer reviewed journals, and the biannual Conference. Over the course of the 6-year grant period, the 11 scholars attended a combined 103 professional conferences and presented a total of 163 posters and oral presentations. In 2016 alone they attended 35 conferences and presented 41 posters and talks. During the 6-year grant period, I-TOPP faculty published 223 scientific articles related to childhood obesity prevention (297 scientific papers with other topics included) in a variety of journals representing a broad range of disciplines. Of those, 56 articles were co-authored by I-TOPP scholars. Output (6) National conference presentations and publications in peer reviewed journals resulting from our assessment of how the educational process impacts the student's interdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors, and research outputs. The 3rd program evaluation paper is currently being written, which focuses on publication patterns of PhD students in the I-TOPP program compared to traditional programs. That data shows that after five years in this program there is no significant difference in number of publications per students between the groups (but approaching significance p=0.054). However, the I-TOPP students' publications get 5.1-fold more cited in google scholar and Scopus than publications of traditional students in similar field, hence implying higher impact. In addition, I-TOPP students are significantly more collaborative as evidenced by the fact that they have more authors, more disciplines, and more organizations represented per paper. We continue to analyze the data and several more papers are planned to be written.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Robinson K.N. and Teran-Garcia M. 2015. From infancy to aging: Biological and behavioral modifiers of Fetuin-A. Biochimie. 2015 Dec 29. pii: S0300-9084(15)00430-7. doi: 10.1016/j.biochi.2015.12.016.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Saltzman, J.A., Liechty, J.M. and Badskey, E.A. 2015. Holistic health promotion for adolescent girls in an alternative school setting: Lessons learned. School Social Work Journal 40(1): 58-77.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Fiese, B.H., Jones, B.L. and Jarick, J.M. 2015. Family mealtime dynamics and food consumption: An experimental approach to understanding distractions. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cfp0000047.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Christoph, M.J., Allison, M.A., Pankow, J.S., Decker, P.A., Kirsch, P.S., Tsai, M.Y., Sale, M.M., de Andrade, M., Sicotte, H., Tang, W., Hanson, N.Q., Berardi, C., Wassel, C.L., Larson, N.B. and Bielinski, S.J. 2016. Impact of adiposity on cellular adhesion: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) study. Obesity. 24(1): 223-30. doi: 10.1002/oby.21245.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Christoph, M.J., An, R. and Ellison, B. 2016. Correlates of nutrition label use among college students and young adults: A review. Public Health Nutr. 2016 19(12):2135-48.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Saltzman, J.A., Liechty, J.M., Bost, K.K. and Fiese, B.H. 2016. Parent binge eating and restrictive feeding practices: Indirect effects of parent responses to child negative emotion. Eating Behaviors doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2016.02.001.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Saltzman, J.A. and Liechty, J.M. 2016. Family correlations for binge eating in childhood: A systematic review. Eat Behav. 2016 Apr 9;22:62-71. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2016.03.027.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Niemiro, G.M., Raine, L.B., Khan, N.A., Emmons, R., Little, J., Kramer, A.F., Hillman, C.H. and Lisio, M. 2016. Circulating progenitor cells are positively associated with cognitive function among overweight/obese children. Brain Behav Immun. 2016 Apr 27. pii: S0889-1591(16)30064-2. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2016.03.018.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Figueroa R. and An, R. 2016. Motor skill competence and physical activity in preschoolers: A review. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 1-11.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Christoph, M.J., Ellison, B.D. and Meador, E.N. 2016. The impact of nutrition label placement on awareness and use among college students in a dining hall setting. J. Acad. Nutr. Diet. 2016; 116(9):1395-1405.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Robinson, K.N., Rowitz, B. and Teran-Garcia, M. 2016. Weight loss surgery: Mechanisms of action and the critical role of nutrition. Carle Selected Papers 59(2), 15-18.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Pineros-Leano, M., Liechty, J.M. and Piedra, L.M. 2017. Latino immigrants, depressive symptoms, and cognitive behavioral therapy: A systematic review. J Affect Disord. 208:567-576. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.10.025.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Olson, E.A., Mullen, S.P., Raine, L.B., Kramer, A.F., Hillman, C.H. and McAuley, E. 2016. Integrated social and neurocognitive model of physical activity behavior in older adults with metabolic disease. Ann. Behav. Med. 2016 Nov 14. [Epub ahead of print].
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Figueroa, R., Saltzman, J., Jarick, J. and Wiley, A. 2017. Culture is so interspersed: Child-minders & and health workers perceptions of childhood obesity in South Africa. Journal of Obesity.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Liechty, J.M., Paceley, M.S., Donovan, S.M., Bost, K.K., Fiese, B.H. and Keck, A.S. 2017. Preparing leaders in public health education and research: A transdisciplinary developmental approach. Submitted to Pedagogy in Health Promotion.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Keck, A.-S., Sloane, S., Liechty, J.M., Paceley, M.S., Donovan, S.M., Bost, K.K., McBride, B.A. and Fiese, B.H. Longitudinal perspectives of faculty and students on benefits and barriers to transdisciplinary graduate education: Program assessment and institutional recommendations. Studies in Higher Education.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Christoph, M. 2016. Nutrition label use in college students: An examination of predictors, the impact of label placement, and the relationship between label use and dietary quality. PhD Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Raine, L. 2016. Obesity, visceral adipose tissue, and cognition in childhood. PhD Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Monaco, M.H., Kim, J. and Donovan, S.M. 2016. Human milk: Composition and nutritional value. In: Caballero, B., Finglas, P. and Toldr�, F. (eds.) The Encyclopedia of Food and Health vol. 3, pp. 357-362. Oxford: Academic Press.


Progress 02/01/15 to 01/31/16

Outputs
Target Audience: From the training initiative, the target audience is the eleven I-TOPP scholars engaged in the joint degree program. Of the eleven scholars, 3 are Hispanic, 2 are Asian, 2 are multiracial, and 2 are economically disadvantaged. For the lecture series, visiting lecture program and biennial symposium, the target audience includes faculty and students of the university, leading childhood obesity researchers, local and state authorities and policymakers, child care providers, health/medical personnel, and various community members who benefit from the sharing of information. For the transdisciplinary education assessment, the target audience is grant funding agencies, other academic institutions, and faculty. Changes/Problems:We recognize there will be a delay in expenditures and we obtained a one year no-cost-extension. The delay is due to the timing of the award being too close to the start of the academic year to fully recruit a full cohort in the first year of the award. We successfully enrolled four students, half of the desired amount, and enrolled the other half in the beginning of Fall 2012, a full 18 months after the award date. We are asking for an additional year so the scholars who began in the second cohort will continue to have the necessary funding to complete the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Dissertation Research: The eleven I-TOPP scholars are making excellent progress in their academic training and research. Each are immersed in their respective labs and are collecting and analyzing data related to their individual projects. Mary Christoph (Ellison & Klonoff-Cohen) is assessing the impact of nutritional labels and environmental cues on eating behaviors in adolescents. Katie Paige (Teran-Garcia & Donovan) is focusing on gene-environment interactions, specifically the impact of genes related to immunity and adiposity and their interactions with the diet. Lauren Raine (Hillman) is examining the relationship between physical fitness and (excess) body mass on brain health, cognition, and scholastic performance. Natasha Cole (Donovan & Lee) is examining the relationship between a dopamine gene and parental feeding styles and picky eating. Annelise Feld (Fiese & Bost) is evaluating the impact of state laws and administrative structures on participation rates of recipients in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Roger Figueroa (Wiley) is studying physical activity promotion in preschool-aged children. Jaclyn Saltzman (Fiese) is exploring the role that emotion regulation plays in the relationship between disordered eating and family mealtime interactions. Maria Pineros-Leano (Liechty) is examining the relationship between mothers' depression and the risk for developing obesity in Latino children. Julia Kim (Donovan) is developing a culturally-tailored curriculum to support breastfeeding in African-American mothers. Liliana Aguayo (Wiley and Klonoff-Cohen) is examining the role of stress on childhood obesity and insulin resistance. Lastly, Jessica Jarick (Fiese) is investigating the influence of participating in cooking on the development of children's food preferences. The scholars apply the knowledge and theory from their course workto the practical experiences of the real-world through their practicum and capstone experiences. These experiences include implementing a child cooking program, developing protocols for a pediatric bariatric program, developing and conducting a hospital evaluation program, and a public health initiative to encourage breastfeeding friendly options in the community. Curricula: In Fall 2015, an I-TOPP seminar course focused on the local food environment was taughtby Diana Grigsby-Toussaint. In addition, Drs. Sharon Donovan and Rod Johnson co-taught the Grantmanship and Ethics course. In that course, students learned how to write the sections of a grant proposal, evaluate peer-written proposals, and background on research misconduct, human subject protection, animal protection, intellectual property and scientific records keeping. Weekly there was a hands-on lab run by Dr Anna Keck, ITOPP program coordinator, where the students did hands on work including finding a call for a proposal, download the application, creating a budget, write a biosketch, obtain an eRA commons username, writing a support letter and filling out a University transmittal form. Seed Grant program. Five grants awarded this past year are investigating: 1) Non-parental child care as a barrier to breastfeeding; 2) Feeding patterns and practices among first generation Latina mothers and families; 3) Impact of genetics on childhood obesity, cognition and fitness; 4) Breastfeeding facilitators and barriers among African-American women in Champaign county; and 5) Holistic obesity prevention with Mexican mothers and preschool-aged children. Teaching Experience: Three I-TOPP faculty taught the courses outlined in the "Products" section below.Six of the 11 I-TOPP scholars had teaching assistantships during the past year in courses in the Departments of Kinesiology, Community Health, and Food Science & Human Nutrition. Networks and Collaborations: Collaborations have grown within and outside the I-TOPP program. Scholars across disciplines worked together to create a childhood obesity intervention. Examples of the interventions include one aimed at grandparents and grandchildren on nutrition knowledge, a middle school intervention on physical activity, and the development of monthly education lessons for pregnant women and their families. The collaboration allowed by the visiting faculty program resulted in collaborations with six faculty on campus and the submission of a joint NIH grant proposal. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the publications listed above and the seminars and biennal symposium, all 11 I-TOPP scholars and 9 I-TOPP faculty have attended national meetings on the topic of childhood obesity. In addition, Dr. Sharon Donovan, PI, represented I-TOPP at the Director's Meeting in July 2015. Two scholars worked with the local Public Health district on community-based initiatives. One scholarworked with Extension, supervised by Jennifer McCaffrey PhD, MPH, RD, the Program Leader- Family and Consumer Sciences at UI Extension, for her practicum experience. Community members, educators, researchers, dietitians, and medical professionals were included in the lecture series to engage in the broader discussions related to childhood obesity and food security. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the final year of the grant, we will continue to disseminate the results the scholars' research though conference presentations and publications in peer reviewed journals. We will present at national conferences and will publish in peer-reviewed journals resulting from our assessment of how the educational process impacts the student's interdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs. In addition, Dr. Donovan will chair a symposium at Experimental Biology 2016 entitled "Transdisciplinary Training in Childhood Obesity Prevention: Approaches, Successes and Challenges", which will feature the PI of the 4 grants at U of I, Penn State, Long Beach and South Dakota and several of the trainees. Lastly, we will seek broader interactions and collaborations between I-TOPP faculty and international leaders through the Visiting Faculty Program and the Lecture Series.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: Establish an innovative research-based PhD/MPH degree program that uses a transdisciplinary approach to integrate nutrition, physical activity, public health science, family science, human development, economics and interdisciplinary public health practice with a focus on obesity prevention and child health and wellbeing. The joint degree was created for students to obtain a Master's in Public Health degree and a PhD in one of the disciplines listed above. This degree is currently available to any University of Illinois student. To date, eleven students have enrolled. Of those students, ten have completed the MPH portion of the program and 11 are doing work towards their PhD. Two scholars will earn their PhD in Community Health, three in Nutritional Sciences, one in Kinesiology, four in Human Development and Family Studies, and one in Social Work. We expect to graduate the first student in 2016. Goal 2: Educate a cohort of 8 PhD/MPH transdisciplinary obesity scholars with the theoretical and functional competencies as well as team-based approaches required to conduct research on the behavioral factors that influence excessive weight gain in children and to develop and test effective transdisciplinary interventions to prevent childhood obesity. With additional internal University support, we are currently educating eleven MPH/PhD scholars who are immersed in a transdisciplinary research environment. Six semester-long seminar courses have been held exposing the trainees to the specifics of various disciplines as they relate to childhood obesity. The scholars have taken two obesity courses created specifically for this training program, along with theory and foundation courses. The students and faculty have applied to and been awarded 21 seed grants, five this year, to conduct research and implement interventions on a variety of topics related to childhood obesity. Goal 3: Assess how the educational process impacts transdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs, which will be assessed using established measures longitudinally and in comparison to PhD and MPH students at the University of Illinois who are not participating in I-TOPP. To better understand the process, pitfalls, and outcomes of transdisciplinary education and learning team science, we collect data throughout the educational process. We will also compare the data for the joint degree students with students who are receiving a traditional MPH or PhD. We continue to analyze this data, and have submitted the first paper as well as presented a poster at a national conference. Dr. Donovan and Dr. Liechty presented the baseline knowledge and attitudes toward transdisciplinary obesity research and education during our third biennial symposium. Dr. Donovan will co-chair a symposium at Experimental Biology in April 2016 entitled Transdisciplinary Training in Childhood Obesity Prevention: Approaches, Successes and Challenges. Additional Output (4) Broader cross-disciplinary interactions between University of Illinois faculty and international leaders through the Visiting Faculty Program and the Lecture Series. Four invited lecturers were sponsored this year. In April, we hosted Dr. David Stodden from the University of South Carolina. Dr. Stodden examines trajectories of health-related physical fitness and obesity. A second invited speaker in April was Melissa Munn-Chernoff from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill on the topic of eating disorders and childhood/adolescent overweight. In May, Dr. Kirsten Davison from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health was a lecturer on the effects of an exergaming biking curriculum on fitness, impulsivity and emotional regulation among children aged 5-10 with social and emotional disabilities. In November we hosted Rachel Larimore, Director of Education at Chippewa Nature Center, who lectured on nature-based preschools - integrating best practices of environmental and early childhood education into one program model. Through these efforts we enrich the campus dialogue on childhood obesity and build collaborations with other experts focusing on childhood obesity. Our Third Biennial Symposium on Childhood Obesity was held in October. Events included a poster session and presentations from two invited speakers and presentations by most of the I-TOPP faculty on benefits and barriers of transdisciplinary research and education. Four of the I-TOPP scholars did oral presentations on data from their research project. The symposium was attended by over 68 participants from the university, medical, therapy, and day care community and by Extension, local newspaper, and social service agency representatives. Additional Output (5) Dissemination of results of PhD/MPH scholars research though conference presentations, publications in peer reviewed journals, and at the annual Spring Conference. Over the course of the last year, eleven scholars attended a combined 17 professional conferences. Twenty nine posters and eleven oral presentations were given. Six I-TOPP faculty have also presented at national conferences, presenting five posters and ten oral presentations. This year we are reporting a total of 230 publications in a variety of journals representing a broad range of disciplines. Additional Output (6) National conference presentations and publications in peer reviewed journals resulting from our assessment of how the educational process impacts the student's interdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs. We continue to analyze the data resulting from the ongoing assessment of the transdisciplinary education process and several papers are under review.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Tabb, K.M., Choi, S., Pineros-Leano, M., Meline, B., McDonald, H.G., Kester, R. and Huang, H. 2015. Perinatal Depression Screening In A Women, Infants, And Children (WIC) Program: Perception Of Feasibility And Acceptability Among A Multidisciplinary Staff. Gen Hosp Psychiatry., 37: 305-309.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Schwingel, A., Lineres, D.E., Glavez, P., Adamson, B., Aguayo, L., Boggit, J., Castaneda, Y., Sebastiao, E. and Marquez, D.X. 2015. Developing A Culturally Sensitive Lifestyle Behavior Change Program for Older Latinas. Qualitative Health Research , 1-14. DOI: 10.1177/1049732314568323.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Liechty J.M., Saltzman, J.A., Musaad, S.A. and the STRONG Kids Team. 2015. Health Literacy Is Associated With Parent Attitudes About Weight Control For Children: Findings From The STRONG Kids Study. Appetite. 91:200-8,
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Liechty, J.M. and Lee, M.J. 2015. Body Size Estimation And Other Psychosocial Risk Factors For The Onset Of Adolescent Obesity And Overweight: Findings From Population Level Data. International Journal of Obesity, 39(4), 601-607. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2014.191.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Zuniga, K.E., Mackenzie, M.J., Roberts, S.A., Raine, L.B., Hillman, C.H., Kramer, A.F. and McAuley, E. 2015. Relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and interference control in breast cancer survivors. European Journal of Nutrition [Epub ahead of print].
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Chaddock-Heyman, L., Erickson, K.I., Kienzler, C., King, M., Pontifex, M.B., Raine, L.B., ... and Kramer, A.F. 2015. The Role of Aerobic Fitness in Cortical Thickness and Mathematics Achievement in Preadolescent Children.�PloS one,10(8), e0134115.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Khan, N.A., Raine, L.B., Drollette, E.S., Scudder, M.R., Cohen, N.J., Kramer, A.F. and Hillman, C.H. 2015. The Relationship between Total Water Intake and Cognitive Control among Prepubertal Children. Ann Nutr Metab., 66 Suppl 3:38-41.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Khan, N.A., Raine, L.B., Drollette, E.S., Scudder, M.R. and Hillman, C.H. 2015. The relation of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol to childhood cognitive flexibility. Appetite, pii: S0195-6663(15)00152-X.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Khan, N.A., Raine, L.B., Drollette, E.S., Scudder, M.R., Kramer, A.F. and Hillman, C.H. 2015. Dietary fiber is positively associated with cognitive control among prepubertal children. J Nutr., 145: 143-149.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Khan, N.A., Baym, C.L., Monti, J.M., Raine, L.B., Drollette, E.S., Scudder, M.R., Moore, R.D., Kramer, A.F., Hillman, C.H. and Cohen, N.J. 2014. Central Adiposity Is Negatively Associated with Hippocampal-Dependent Relational Memory Among Overweight and Obese Children. The Journal of Pediatrics, 166;(2) doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.10.008.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Christoph, M.J., An, R. and Ellison, B. 2015. Correlates of nutrition label use among college students and young adults: A review. Public Health Nutr. 2015 Nov 9:1-14. [Epub ahead of print].
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Boquin, M., Smith-Simpson, S., Donovan, S.M. and Lee, S.Y. 2014. Mealtime behaviors and food consumption of picky and non-picky eaters through consumer home use test. Journal of Food Science 2014 79: S2523-2532.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Khan, N.A., Raine, L.B., Drollette, E.S., Scudder, M.R., Pontifex, M.B., Castelli, D.M., Donovan, S.M., Evans, E.M. and Hillman, C.H. 2014. Impact of the FITKids physical activity intervention on adiposity in prepubertal children. Pediatrics, 133, 875-883. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-224.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Gundersen, C. 2015. SNAP and Obesity. In: Bartfeld J., C. Gundersen, T. Smeeding and J. Ziliak. Editors. SNAP Matters: How Food Stamps Affect Health and Well Being. Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Moore, R.D., Pindus, D.M., Drolette, E.S., Scudder, M.R., Raine, L.B. and Hillman, C.H. 2015. The persistent influence of pediatric concussion on attention and cognitive control during flanker performance. Biological Psychology 109:93-102.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Cole, N.C., Wang, A., Lee, S.Y., Donovan, S.M. and Teran-Garcia, M. 2015. Perceived picky eating behaviors in preschoolers is influenced by polymorphisms in chemosensory genes. FASEB J 2015 29:275:2.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Christoph, M.J. and Ellison, B.D. 2015. Who reads nutrition labels? Label usage by college students in a dining hall setting. FASEB J April 2015 29:275.2.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Christoph, M.J., Allison, M.A., Pankow, J.S., Decker, P.A., Kirsch, P.S., Tsai, M.Y., Sale, M.M., de Andrade, M., Sicotte, H., Tang, W., Hanson, N.Q., Berardi, C., Wassel, C.L., Larson, N.B. and Bielinski, S.J. 2015. Sex-Specific Interaction Between Adiposity And Cellular Adhesion: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Study. Circulation. 2015. 131: AP245.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Robinson, K.N., Marques, C., Andrade, F.C.D., Aradillas-Garica, C. and Teran-Garcia, M. 2015. Alpha2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein (AHSG) polymorphism and HOMA-IR in young Mexican adults. FASEB Journal April 2015 29:898.49.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Donovan, S.M. and Fiese, B.H. 2015. Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I-TOPP). Journal of Nutritional Education and Behaivor 2015 47 Suppl.


Progress 02/01/14 to 01/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience: Target Audience From the training initiative, the target audience is the eleven I-TOPP scholars engaged in the joint degree program. Of the eleven scholars, 3 are Hispanic, 2 are Asian, 2 are multiracial, and 2 are economically disadvantaged. For the lecture series and visiting lecture program, the target audience includes faculty and students of the university, leading childhood obesity researchers, local and state authorities and policymakers, child care providers, medical personnel, and various community members who benefit from the sharing of information. For the transdisciplinary education assessment, the target audience is grant funding agencies, other academic institutions and faculty. Effort Being a combined MPH/PhD degree, I-TOPP allows for a variety of both formal and informal educational experiences. Each I-TOPP scholar participates in a 200-hour MPH practicum experience, where they apply the knowledge acquired in the classroom to practice in clinical, community or outreach settings, affording an opportunity to develop and apply certain competencies, such as leadership ability and group process skills, political awareness and communication skills, and understanding of public and private agencies. Five of the 11 scholars elected to fulfill their Practicum requirement through work with University of Illinois Extension in reaching community members in surrounding counties. Three worked in a hospital setting, and two in a Public Health Department. (One scholar already had an MPH degree prior to beginning the program). The MPH Capstone experience, also a requirement of I-TOPP scholars, is a culminating project intended to help each student integrate information and skills gained from the coursework and Practicum to address a public health issue or problem. The second of two Childhood Obesity courses developed for this grant was offered in the Spring 2014. Two seminars led by I-TOPP faculty where also offered this academic year. Changes/Problems: We recognize there will be a delay in expenditures and plan to submit a request for a sixth year no-cost-extension on February 1. The delay is due to the timing of the award being too close to the start of the academic year torecruit a full cohort in the first year of the award. We successfully enrolled four students, half of the desired amount, and enrolled the other half in the beginning of Fall 2012, a full 18 months after the award date. We are asking for an additional year so the scholars who began in the second cohort will continue to have the necessary funding to complete the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Training The eleven I-TOPP scholars are making excellent progress in their academic training and research. Each are immersed in their respective labs and are collecting and analyzing data related to their individual projects. Mary Christoph (Ellison & Klonoff-Cohen) is assessing the impact of nutritional labels and environmental cues on eating behaviors in adolescents. Katie Paige (Teran-Garcia & Donovan) is focusing on gene-environment interactions, specifically the impact of genes related to immunity and adiposity and their interactions with the diet. Lauren Raine (Hillman) is examining the relationship between physical fitness and (excess) body mass on brain health, cognition, and scholastic performance. Natasha Cole (Donovan & Lee) is examining the relationship between a dopamine gene and parental feeding styles and picky eating. Annelise Feld (Fiese & Bost) is evaluating the impact of state laws and administrative structures on participation rates of recipients in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Roger Figueroa (Wiley) is studying physical activity promotion in preschool-aged children. Jaclyn Saltzman (Fiese) is exploring the role that emotion regulation plays in the relationship between disordered eating and family mealtime interactions. Maria Pineros-Leano (Liechty) is examining the relationship between mothers' depression and the risk for developing obesity in Latino children. Julia Kim (Donovan) is investigating the influence of maternal diet on breast milk composition and infant outcome. Liliana Aguayo (Wiley and Klonoff-Cohen) is examining the role of stress on childhood obesity and insulin resistance. Lastly, Jessica Jarick (Fiese) is investigating the influence of participating in cooking on the development of children's food preferences. The scholars apply the knowledge and theory coursed to the practical experiences of the real-world through their practicum and capstone experiences. These experiences include implementing a child cooking program, developing protocols for a pediatric bariatric program, developing and conducting a hospital evaluation program, and a public health initiative to encourage breastfeeding friendly options in the community. Professional Development We have sponsored two separate trainings on specific statistic topics attended by the I-TOPP scholars. Dr. Brian Ogolsky provided a workshop on data management and factor analysis, and Dr. Salma Musaad led a workshop on power analysis. Both workshops were hands-on in the computer lab where scholars could bring their own data for consideration. Another workshop provided was on team building for the 11 scholars. In March we traveled to Chicago to participate in a day-long team building activity at the Q Center. Feedback from the scholars included these comments: "I learned a lot about myself, as well as others. Specifically, I learned that everyone has strengths and weaknesses and that identifying those are key to teamwork success. Also, trusting and communicating (both listening and expressing ourselves) effectively with each other are were fundamental." "The activities taught me a lot about myself and the other scholars. Though I was pretty aware of my own strengths and weaknesses working in groups, hearing feedback from others gave me a better understanding of myself. The activity with the Hermann Whole Brain Model helped me understand the other scholars working styles. This knowledge will be especially helpful when working with other scholars as a team. Knowing everyone's strengths and preferences will be very useful when delegating work in a group." "I understand more about the way I process information, and the way others do, as well." How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Two scholars worked with the local Public Health district on community-based initiatives. One scholarworked with Extension, supervised by Jennifer McCaffrey PhD, MPH, RD, the Program Leader for Family and Consumer Sciences at UI Extension, for her practicum experience. Community members, educators, researchers, dietitians, and medical professionals were included in the lecture series to engage in the broader discussions related to childhood obesity and food security. Ten I-TOPP scholars and 7 I-TOPP faculty have attended national meetings on the topic of childhood obesity. In addition, Dr. Sharon Donovan, PI, represented I-TOPP at the Director's Meeting in July 2014. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We will continue to disseminate the results the scholars' research though conference presentations and publications in peer reviewed journals. We will present at national conferences and will publish in peer-reviewed journals resulting from our assessment of how the educational process impacts the student's interdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs. We will seek broader interactions and collaborations between I-TOPP faculty and international leaders through the Visiting Faculty Program and the Lecture Series.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Impact Statement The continued rising prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents is a complex public health problem. Transdisciplinary teams of investigators are required to develop effective strategies for prevention and for weight reduction. We have developed a unique integrated training program encompassing education, research and practicum experience focused on obesity prevention. Using a transdisciplinary approach, we are stimulating connections and synergies across many levels of influence, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and societal. We will have trained 11 scholars in this new program who will be the future leaders in academic, medical, and non-profit and governmental institutions by providing expertise in population-based transdisciplinary approaches to childhood obesity prevention. Goal 1: Establish an innovative research-based PhD/MPH degree program that uses a transdisciplinary approach to integrate nutrition, physical activity, public health science, family science, human development, economics and interdisciplinary public health practice with a focus on obesity prevention and child health and wellbeing. The joint degree was created for students to obtain a Master's in Public Health degree, and a PhD in one of the disciplines listed above. This degree is currently available to any University of Illinois student. To date, eleven students have enrolled. Of those students, ten have completed the MPH portion of the program and 11 are doing work towards their PhD. Two scholars will earn their PhD in Community Health, three in Nutritional Sciences, one in Kinesiology, four in Human Development and Family Studies, and one in Social Work. We expect to graduate the first student in 2016. Goal 2: Educate a cohort of 8 PhD/MPH transdisciplinary obesity scholars with the theoretical and functional competencies as well as team-based approaches required to conduct research on the behavioral factors that influence excessive weight gain in children and to develop and test effective transdisciplinary interventions to prevent childhood obesity. With additional internal University support, we are currently educating eleven MPH/PhD scholars who are immersed in a transdisciplinary research environment. Five semester-long seminars have been held exposing the trainees to the specifics of various disciplines as they relate to childhood obesity. The scholars have taken two obesity courses created specifically for this training program, along with theory and foundation courses. The students and faculty have applied and been awarded 16 seed grants, four this year, to conduct research and implement interventions on a variety of topics related to childhood obesity. Goal 3: Assess how the educational process impacts transdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs, which will be assessed using established measures longitudinally and in comparison to PhD and MPH students at the University of Illinois who are not participating in I-TOPP. To better understand the process, pitfalls, and outcomes of transdisciplinary education and learning team science, we collect data throughout the educational process.We will also compare the data for the joint degree students with students who are receiving a traditional MPH or PhD. We continue to analyze this data, and have submitted the first paper as well as presented a poster at a national conference. Dr. Donovan presented the baseline knowledge and attitudes toward transdisciplinary obesity research at the 2014 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Annual Conference in July. Additional Output (4) Broader cross-disciplinary interactions between University of Illinois faculty and international leaders through the Visiting Faculty Program and the Lecture Series. One visiting faculty member and four invited lecturers were sponsored this year. As described under "Events," this year we hosted Dr. Kirk Erickson from the University of Pittsburgh from February to April. Dr. Erickson examines the effects of physical activity and obesity on brain health. In September, Dr. Sheryl Hughes was a lecturer on parenting influences on children's obesity risk. In October we hosted Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer who lectured on family meals, and Dr. Kim Greder who lectured on Latina immigrant mothers and healthy child eating. Finally, in November, Dr. Jane Fulkerson delivered a lecture on childhood obesity prevention with HOME plus. Through these efforts we enrich the campus dialogue on childhood obesity and build collaborations with other experts focusing on childhood obesity. Additional Output (5) Dissemination of results of PhD/MPH scholars research though conference presentations, publications in peer reviewed journals and the annual Spring Conference. Over the course of the last year, ten scholars attended a combined 13 professional conferences. Eight posters and 4 oral presentations were given. Seven I-TOPP faculty have also presented at national conferences, presenting 6 posters and 3 oral presentations. This year we are reporting a total of 25 publications in a variety of journals representing a broad range of disciplines. Additional Output (6) National conference presentations and publications in peer reviewed journals resulting from our assessment of how the educational process impacts the student's interdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs. We have submitted our first paper presenting the data on student's baseline knowledge and attitudes toward transdisciplinary obesity research. Dr. Donovan presented a poster on the same topic at the 2014 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Annual Conference in July.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Chaddock-Heyman, L., Erickson, K.I., Voss, M.W., Powers, J.P., Knecht, A.M., Hillman, C.H. and Kramer, A.F. White matter microstructure is associated with cognitive control in children.�Biological Psychology. 94(1), 109-115.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Figueroa, R., Sosa, E., Cordova, A., Wilmoth, S., He, M. and Wu, S. Health communication and obesity prevention in Hispanic communities: A qualitative exploration of medias roles. Journal of Research in Obesity, Vol. 2014 (2014), Article ID 722324, DOI: 10.5171/2014.722324.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Dev, D., Speirs, K.E., McBride, B.A., Donovan, S., & Chapman-Novakofski, K. (2014). Head Start and Child care Providers' Motivators, Barriers and Facilitators to Family Style Meal Service. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 29; 649-659.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Pineros-Leano, M., Tabb, K.M., Sears, H., Meline, B. and Huang, H. Clinic staff attitudes towards the use of health technology to conduct perinatal depression screenings: A qualitative study.�Family Practice, doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmu083.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Drollette, E.S., Scudder, M.R., Raine, L.B., Moore, R.D., Saliba, B.J., Pontifex, M.B. and Hillman, C.H. Acute exercise facilitates brain function and cognition in children who need it most: An ERP study of individual differences in inhibitory control capacity. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 7, 53-64.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Khan, N.A., Raine, L.B., Drollette, E.S., Scudder, M.R., Pontifex, M.B., Castelli, D.M., Donovan, S.M., Evans, E.M. and Hillman, C.H. Impact of the FIT Kids physical activity intervention on adiposity in prepubertal children. Pediatrics, 133, 875-883. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-2246.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Scudder, M.R., Federmeier, K.D., Raine, L.B., Direito, A., Boyd, J.K. and Hillman, C.H. The association between aerobic fitness and language processing in children: Implications for academic achievement. Brain & Cognition, 87, 140-152.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Kamijo, K., Pontifex, M.B., Khan, N.A., Raine, L.B., Scudder, M.R., Drollette, E.S., Evans, E.M., Castelli, D.M. and Hillman, C.H. The negative association of childhood obesity to the cognitive control of action monitoring. Cerebral Cortex. March 2014;24:654662. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhs349.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Baym, C.L., Khan, N.A., Monti, J.M., Raine, L.B., Drollette, E.S., Scudder, M.R., Moore, R.D., Kramer, A.F., Hillman, C.H. and Cohen, N.J. Dietary lipids are differentially associated with hippocampal-dependent relational memory in prepubertal children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 014;99:102633.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Robinson, K.N., Musaad, S.M.A., Teran-Garcia, M., Donovan, S.M. and the STRONG Kids Research Team. The effect of breastfeeding on asthmatic children with or without food allergies and sensitivities: A retrospective cohort of preschool-aged children. BMC Pediatrics.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Donovan, S.M., Buchner, D.M., Fiese, B.H. and Johnson, R.W.J. Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I-TOPP). Journal of Nutritional Education and Behaivor 44 (Suppl 4S): S93-94.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Pagie, K.N., Teran-Garcia, M. and Donovan, S.M. Prevelance of food allergies and sensitivities (FA-S) and asthma and associated risk factors in the STRONG Kigs Program (SKP). FASEB J 2013 27:850.8.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Christoph, M.J., Turi, K.N. and Grigsby-Toussaint, D.S. Socio-demographic and geographic variation of overweight and obesity in Uganda FASEB J. 27, 366.6.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Dev, D.A., Speirs, K.E. and McBride, B.A. Take a no thank-you bite: Head Start and child care providers perceptions to avoiding controlling feeding practices.� Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 46 (Suppl 4S): S102.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Dev, D.A., McBride, B.A., Speirs, K.E., Donovan, S.M. and Cho, H. Predictors of Head Start and child care providers healthful and controlling feeding practices with 2- to 5-year old��children. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Volume 114; 9. 13961400. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2014.01.006.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Liechty, J.M., Paceley, M., McBride, B., Fiese, B., Bost, K. and Donovan, S.M. Graduate students' early conceptualizations of transdisciplinary research: Insights from innovative visual and textual assessments of scholarly development. Journal of Nutritional Education and Behavior 46 (Suppl 4S): S191-S192. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2014.04.192.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Christoph, M., Grigsby-Toussaint, D., Baingana, R. and Ntambi, J. Assessing diet and physical activity related to obesity risk among Ugandan school children. FASEB J 28: LB462.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Gundersen, C. and Ziliak, J.P. Food insecurity and health outcomes among multigenerational households. FASEB J 2014 28:805.11.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Paige, K.N., Wallace, V.K., Teran-Garcia, M. and Donovan, S.M. Accuracy of food guide and nutrition label use by caretakers in the STRONG Kids cohort. Experimental Biology. FASEB J 28:808.17.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Grigsby-Toussaint, D.S., Harrision, K., Fiese, B.H., Nelson, M.R. and Christoph, M.J. Exploring marketing targeted to youth in food stores. In: Advances in Communication Research to Reduce Childhood Obesity (Williams, J., Pasch, K., Collins, C., Eds.). 2012, New York: Springer. Bradford, N.J.


Progress 02/01/13 to 01/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Target Audience: From this training initiative, the target audience is the eleven I-TOPP scholars engaged in the joint degree program. Of the eleven scholars, 3 are Hispanic, 2 are Asian, 2 are multiracial, and 2 are economically disadvantaged. From the lecture series and visiting lecture program, the target audience includes faculty and students of the university, leading childhood obesity researchers, local and state authorities and policymakers, child care providers, medical personnel, and various community members who benefit from the sharing of information. Efforts: I-TOPP allows for a variety of both formal and informal educational experiences. Each I-TOPP scholar completes a 200-hour MPH practicum experience, where they use the knowledge acquired in the academic program within a practice agency or environment, affording an opportunity to develop and apply certain competencies such as leadership ability and group process skills, political awareness and communication skills, and understanding of public and private agencies. Four of the 7 scholars who have completed their MPHPracticum experience elected to fulfill this requirement through work with Extension in reaching community members in surrounding counties. The Capstone, also a requirement of I-TOPP scholars, is a culminating project intended to help each student integrate information and skills gained from the coursework and practicum to address a public health issue or problem. Two childhood obesity courses have been approved, one was offeredinfall 2013, and the other will be offered in spring 2014. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? All eleven I-TOPP scholars are making excellent progress in their academic training and research. Mary Christoph (Grigsby-Toussaint) is working to understand environmental and biological determinants of obesity, specifically exploring the impact of the nutrition transition on obesity risk in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the effect of web-based and in-store marketing on childhood obesity. Katie Paige (Teran-Garcia) is exploring gene-environment interactions, specifically the impact of genes related to immunity and adiposity and their interactions with the diet. Lauren Raine (Hillman) is examining the relationship between physical fitness and (excess) body mass on brain health, cognition, and scholastic performance. Anneliese Feld (Fiese and Bost) is exploring the role of trauma and family cohesiveness on childhood eating habits, and the impact that policy has on healthy childhood eating patterns by providing protective measures and limiting risk factors. Jaclyn Saltzman (Liechty) is exploring risk factors and characteristics related to childhood disordered eating, especially Binge Eating Disorder (BED), andthe potentially reciprocal roles between binge eating and obesity.Ms. Saltzman is also interested in exploring the impact of participation in a school-based community garden project on adolescents' eating behaviors, healthy lifestyle goals, and well-being. Roger Figueroa (Wiley and Grigsby-Toussaint) is evaluating physical activity promotion among preschool-aged children as well as factors associated with physical activity in early adulthood populations.Maria Pineros-Leano (Liechty) is exploring the role that depression and stress experienced during and after pregnancy can influence the risk for development of obesity in children and mothers from racial and ethnic minority groups.Natasha Cole (Donovan and Lee) is examining family meal times, child feeding practices and behavioral interventions in childhood obesity prevention. Jessica Jarick (Fiese) is exploring the role that social and environmental factors play in the development of children’s preferences for healthy food and physical activity. Liliana Aguayo (Grigsby-Toussaint) is examining the overexposure to stress during pregnancy and the adverse effects on child healthoutcomes, specifically how resiliency factors operate to alter allostatic load and reduce its impact on childhood obesity and insulin resistance in Hispanic children in the United States and Mexico.Lastly, Julia Kim (Donovan) is investigating the influence of maternal diet on breast milk composition and infant outcome. During the last year of the grant, the scholars attended a combined sixteen professional conferences, where nine posters and two oral presentations were given. Five I-TOPP faculty have also presented at national conferences this past year, presenting seven posters and two oral presentations. Six I-TOPP scholars attended a four-day workshop on techniques for writing and presenting a scientific paper offered August 13-16, 2013. In their evaluations, participants stated that the workshop was “extremely useful,” “logical, clear, and informative,” and “a workshop that all scientists in any state of their career could benefit from.” How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Four scholars worked with Extension,two through Dr. Jennifer McCaffrey, Program Leader- Family and Consumer Sciences at UI Extension for their practicum experience. Community members, educators, researchers, dietitians, and medical professionals were included in the lecture series to engage in the broader discussions related to childhood obesity and food security. Nine I-TOPP scholars and five I-TOPP faculty have attended national meetings on the topic of childhood obesity. In addition, Dr. Sharon Donovan, PI, represented the initial findings of the transdisciplinary assessmentat the Director’s Meeting at SNEBin July, 2013. In addition, Dr. Donovan was the keynote lecturer on the topic of transdiscilplinary training in obesity prevention at the State of the Art Conference on Graduate Interdisciplinary Instruction on Obesity and Weight Management that was held at the University of Georgia on July 29-30, 2013. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We will disseminate the results of PhD/MPH scholars research though conference presentations and publications in peer reviewed journals. We will present at national conferences and will publish in peer-reviewed journals dataresulting from our assessment of how the educational process impacts the student’s interdisciplinary attitudes, behaviors and research outputs. We will seek broader interactions and collaborations between I-TOPP faculty and international leaders through the Visiting Faculty Program and the Lecture Series.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Major activities completed and experiments conducted: Five scholars were added this fall supported in part by funds provided by campus administrators. Seven scholars have completed their MPH coursework and have transitioned into their respective PhD programs. We continue to collect data on transdisciplinary education from current PhD and MPH students and MPH students who have graduated and present this information at national conferences. The Visiting Faculty Program and Lecture Series have provided broader cross-disciplinary interactions between University of Illinois students and faculty, and global leaders in the area of childhood obesity, transdisciplinary education, and public policy. Data Collected: Data collection related to transdisciplinary education includes the assessment of I-TOPP scholars, traditional MPH students, traditional PhD students, and I-TOPP faculty. This year we have collected data using questionnaires and short answer surveys to assess feelings, attitudes, and experience with transdisciplinary training, focus groups, kinetic drawings, and evaluation of statement of purpose. Data collection has also occurred within four Seed Grant projects awarded this year, all of which will yield data to be disseminated upon completion of the grant periods. Summary statistics and discussion of results: The findings of the faculty and scholar focus groups revealed perceived benefits and barriers to participating in a transdisciplinary education program. These initial themes suggest ways in which faculty can use the perceived benefits to establish sustainable partnerships, as well as identifies potential barriers for team members to be aware of and work to minimize when possible. While scholars see clear benefits to transdisciplinary education for their career development and future opportunities, they voiced concerns in terms of the logistics of TD training such as how to balance breadth and depth, how to meet faculty expectations, and time requirements. Change in Knowledge: Through the baseline assessment of I-TOPP scholars and faculty as well as traditional MPH and PhD students, we have identified many perceived barriers and benefits of transdisciplinary education. These findings were shared at the 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Annual Conference in July 2013. We are currently summarizing our focus group findings and coding kinetic drawings and statement of purpose documents for publication. In addition, all I-TOPP scholars are immersed in the laboratories of their respective disciplines and engaging in current and new projects that expose them to a wide variety of laboratiory techniques. Change in Actions: The I-TOPP scholars have applied the knowledge from theory courses to the practical experience of the real-world through their practicum and capstone experiences. These experiences include creating a program for the Child and Adult Care Food Program instructing childcare providers on menu planning and the importance of mealtime environment, and best practices for reaching adolescence through social media to impact healthy eating.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Donovan, S.M., Paceley, M., Bost, K., Liechty, J. and McBride, B. Assessing benefits and barriers to transdisciplinary training in the Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I-TOPP). Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 45 (Suppl 4S): S80.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Christoph, M.J., Grigsby-Toussaint, D.S. and Ntambi, J.M. Health data collection efforts targeting obesity and nutrition-related non-communicable conditions in Uganda: A qualitative analysis.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Liechty, J.M., Saltzman, J. and the STRONG Kids Research Team. Associations between health literacy and child weight control strategies among parents of preschoolers.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Paceley, M.S., McBride, B., Liechty, J.M., Donovan, S. and Bost, K. Transdisciplinary approaches to obesity prevention research: Barriers and benefits.


Progress 02/01/12 to 01/31/13

Outputs
(N/A)

Impacts
Change in Knowledge: Through the baseline assessment of I-TOPP scholars and faculty as well as traditional MPH and PhD students, we have identified many perceived barriers and benefits of transdisciplinary education. These findings were shared at the 2012 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Annual Conference July 2012. We are currently summarizing our focus group findings, which will be submitted to the 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Annual Conference. In addition to the five existing seed grant projects, two additional grants were awarded to faculty investigating topics related to childhood obesity: 1)Do as eye say Using Eyetracking technology to evaluate implicit attitudes towards branded food products targeted to children and families; and 2) The "nutrition transition" in Uganda: A pilot study exploring risk factors associated with obesity risk among children and families. Change in Actions: The I-TOPP scholars are working in the laboratories of their advisors and becoming competent in technical areas of assessment including eye-tracking, breath collection, DNA extraction, body fat composition measurement, polymerase chain reaction, and fluorescent polarization, as well as qualitative data analysis using ATLAS.ti.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period


Progress 02/01/11 to 01/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Overview: The Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I-TOPP) will establish a joint MPH/PhD program focused on childhood obesity prevention; educate a cohort of 8 scholars with theoretical and functional competencies as well as team-based approaches required to conduct research; and develop and test effective transdisciplinary interventions to prevent childhood obesity. In addition, how the transdisciplinary education process impacts attitudes, behaviors and research outputs, compared to traditional MPH and PhD students will be assessed. Activities: Four scholars were awarded an I-TOPP fellowship in the Fall of 2011 and are completing their second semester of MPH courses. The scholars are advised by I-TOPP faculty in the departments of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Kinesiology & Community Health and Nutritional Sciences. We are currently recruiting 4 additional scholars who will begin Fall of 2012. To explore the impact of transdisciplinary education and attitudes, surveys and focus groups were conducted with faculty, I-TOPP scholars, traditional MPH students and traditional PhD students. Currently we are coding themes identified in the focus groups on perceived benefits and barriers to transdisciplinary education. Two new courses on Childhood Obesity are in the final stages of preparation and will be offered fall 2012. Events: To enrich the campus dialogue on childhood obesity and to collaborate on current work in progress, we invite speakers to participate in both symposia and lecture series throughout the year. In fall 2011, the first I-TOPP symposium served as an educational opportunity for the Illinois community. A keynote speaker (Dr. Cynthia Ogden) and 3 plenary speakers (Drs. Molly Bray, Madeleine Sigman-Grant and Stephen Matthews) discussed their research as well as their views on how a transdisciplinary framework might inform the study of childhood obesity and how we might best prepare the next generation of scholars to address the causes, consequences, and prevention of childhood obesity. We hosted Dr. Myles Faith in December 2011, who explored family-based treatment of early childhood obesity. Products: The joint degree curriculum application was submitted and passed committee review and we expect final approval in the coming weeks. We have collected both qualitative and quantitative baseline data from diverse faculty, MPH students, PhD students, and I-TOPP scholars related to the topic of transdisciplinary education. Assessment included attitudes towards collaboration, perspectives on the interdisciplinary nature of the individual's research, and expectations and obstacles. We completed a strategy for branding I-TOPP and developed a website to promote the program, advertise upcoming speakers, and disseminate information. http://go.illinois.edu/itopp Dissemination: Current outreach efforts were focused on including community members, educators, researchers, dietitians, and physicians to attend both the symposium and lecture series and contribute to the broader discussion. Two I-TOPP scholars and 6 I-TOPP faculty have attended national meetings on the topic of childhood obesity. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Dr. Sharon Donovan (Co-PI): Primary responsibility to oversee all aspects of I-TOPP, Chair of Steering Committee, and Advisor for a current I-TOPP scholar. Dr. Barbara Fiese (Co-PI): Chair of the Lectureship and Symposium Committee, and Member of the Steering, Dissemination and Applicant Evaluation Committees. Dr. Rod Johnson (Co-PI): Member of Steering and Applicant Evaluation Committees. Dr. David Buchner (Co-PI): Director of the MPH program, Member of Steering Committee and Chair of the Applicant Evaluation Committees. Dr. Kelly Bost (Co-Investigator): Member Transdisciplinary Education Assessment and Lectureship Committees. Dr. Diana Grigsby-Toussaint (Co-Investigator): Member of the Applicant Evaluation Committee and Advisor for a current I-TOPP scholar. Dr. Craig Gundersen (Co-Investigator): Member of Lectureship & Symposium and Dissemination Committees. Dr. Charles Hillman (Co-Investigator): Member of the Application Evaluation Committee and Advisor for a current I-TOPP scholar. Dr. Juhee Kim (Co-Investigator): Member of the Transdisciplinary Education Assessment Committee. Dr. Margarita Teran-Garcia (Co-Investigator): Member of the Annual Student Review Committee and Advisor for a current I-TOPP scholar. Dr. Angela Wiley (Co-Investigator): Member of the Dissemination Committee. Graduate Students: The four I-TOPP scholars are making excellent progress in their academic training and research. Mary Christoph is advised by Dr. Diana Grigsby-Toussaint and is working to understand the nutrition transition and differences in nutrition and host-microbe interactions in U.S. immigrants and populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Maggie Phan is co-advised by Drs. Sharon Donovan and Soo-Yeun Lee and is examining the development of odor preferences among infants in the etiology of unhealthy food choices and subsequent childhood obesity. Katie Paige is advised by Dr. Margarita Teran-Garcia and is exploring nutrient-gene interactions in an effort to understand the risk of developing obesity in preschoolers, examining the impact of childhood obesity on immune functions and dietary approaches to mediate this association. Lauren Raine is advised by Dr. Charles Hillman and is focused on the relationship between physical fitness and (excess) body mass on brain health, cognition, and scholastic performance. Partner Organizations: Abbott Nutrition and Carle Foundation Hospital contributed financial support to I-TOPP. A gift account has been established and to date the monies have been used to support the biennial symposium. Collaborators and Contacts: Additional researches on the University of Illinois campus have collaborated with I-TOPP faculty on seed grant projects. Those collaborators include Dr. Karen Chapman-Novakofski, Dr. H. Rex Gaskins, and graduate student Dipti Dev. Training /professional development: I-TOPP scholar Mary Christoph has taken advantage of two training opportunities. She attended an Atlas.ti training in Raleigh NC, and received training from Grinbath Inc. on the use of Eyeguide eye-tracking equipment. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for the training is the I-TOPP scholars engaging in this joint degree. Other target audience individuals include members of the university and general community who participate in the lecture series and symposium. Efforts: Aside from the outreach of the lecture and symposia, another effort that will deliver science-based knowledge to people will be in the form of the new courses in development and open to University of Illinois students. Childhood Obesity: Causes and Consequences, and Childhood Obesity Prevention: Policies and Interventions. These courses will provide a new option for educating students on childhood obesity will be available this fall. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Change in Knowledge: Through the baseline assessment of I-TOPP scholars and faculty as well as traditional MPH and PhD students, we have identified the perceived barriers and benefits of transdisciplinary education. These findings will be shared at the 2012 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Annual Conference this July. In addition, seven I-TOPP faculty collaborating together with other researchers on campus are investigating topics related to childhood obesity. Projects include Children's Emotion and Food Consumption: Genetic and Relational Levels of Influence; The Placement Protocol: Assessing Preschooler Dietary Health Literacy and its Family Correlates; Impact of Parenting Styles on Mealtime and Picky Eating Status in Toddlers; Attendance in Child Care as a Risk Factor of Early Childhood Obesity; and Non-invasive Obesity Biomarkers: How about Gas Change in Actions: The I-TOPP scholars are working in the laboratories of their advisors and becoming competent in technical areas of assessment including eye-tracking, breath collection, DNA extraction, body fat composition measurement, polymerase chain reaction, and fluorescent polarization, as well as qualitative data analysis using ATLAS.ti.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period