APE and Thesis Opportunities

Faculty Contact: Julie Gazmararian, PhD, MPH; jagazma [at] emory [dot] edu

If interested in any of these possibilities, please send me your resume and indicate what project you may be interested in.

SDOH – COVID-19 and the U.S. Veterans Population. There is clear evidence that individuals of Black and Asian race and Hispanic ethnicity are more likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, compared to those of White race. Suggested underlying mechanisms explaining these disparities include comorbidities, access to healthcare resources, social determinants of health (SDOH) and occupational risk. However, data regarding both SDOH and comorbidities are often not available for the general population. The Veteran population in the United States serves as a viable racially/ethnically diverse population to study with access to extensive SDOH and health related information. This study, “Contributions of Social Determinants of Health to Susceptibility and Severity ofCOVID-19 across the U.S.”, is examining data from a retrospective cohort of 4,547,853 Veterans who received primary care at the VA in 2019. Detailed information about SDOH characteristics, comorbidities and COVID testing, treatment and outcomes have been obtained to achieve the following objectives: 1) identify key SDOH constructs that influence Veterans’ health; and 2) examine SDOH factors influencing COVID testing, treatment and outcomes in the national VA population. The long term goal of this project is to create policies and practices that mitigate the adverse impact of SDOH on health outcomes among Veterans – and the US population in general.

Opportunities:

1. Summer APE: Assist with finalizing and submitting manuscripts; grant writing

2. MPH student thesis project

3. PhD student RA position

4. Fall REAL position

Evaluation of the Relationship between Physical Activity and Academic Achievement in Georgia. While the health benefits of physical activity are well-known and a public health priority, most youth in the United States do not meet the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Serving more than 95% of U.S. children ages 5-17, the school environment offers a valuable opportunity to engage students in physical activity through the day, but is limited by physical education programs that are often characterized by insufficient curricular, time, financial and staffing allocations. Given that academics are the clear priority for limited school time and resources, school interventions focused on increasing physical activity during the school day may be more successful if supported by evidence that increased physical activity ( PA ) improves academic achievement. The overall goal of this project is to determine the relationship between physical activity, aerobic fitness and academic achievement among elementary students in Georgia.

Opportunities:

1. Summer APE: Assist with finalizing and submitting manuscripts

2. MPH student thesis project

3. PhD student RA position

4. Fall REAL position

HealthMPowers Early Childcare Education Program. Providing evaluation and data analysis for Early Childhood Education center program to improve nutrition and physical activity of preK age children. Job duties include: working with HealthMPowers staff to manage survey data collection from child care staff and parents; assisting in preparation of annual report to HealthMPowers; managing data cleaning, coding, data checks and analysis for assessment and survey data; assisting with ongoing documentation of methodology; assisting in the development of center and overall child care reports, including creating charts. May also assist with grant writing/funding opportunities; and with conducting analyses and writing a manuscript for peer-review publication.

Opportunities:

1. Summer APE

2. Fall REAL position

Sleep and Education/Health Outcomes. Education and health disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) are well documented among adolescents. Sleep, a health behavior, may be a fundamental mechanism contributing to both education and health outcomes. Teenagers are the least likely of any age group to get sufficient sleep and there are racial/ethnic and SES disparities in sleep duration, timing, and quality. Multilevel (individual, family, neighborhood) stressors are common among adolescents and may also contribute to disparities in sleep, education and health. The goals of our project, Effects of Sleep on Education and Health Outcomes Among Adolescents, are to (1) use objective measures of sleep to assess whether racial/ethnic or SES disparities in sleep duration, timing and quality among teenagers affect education and health outcomes; (2) explore the contribution of multilevel stressors to disparities in sleep and education disparities. Our prospective study of an ethnically, racially and economically diverse sample of adolescents will enable us to investigate the temporal relationships among sleep, education, and health outcomes. Results from this study have the potential for identifying and targeting sleep, a modifiable health behavior, as a mechanism of education and health disparities.

Opportunities:

1. Summer APE: Assist with finalizing and submitting manuscripts; grant writing

2. MPH student thesis project

3. PhD student RA position

4. Fall REAL position