Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH
Titles
Education
Summary
My research focuses on the promotion of eating, activity, and weight-related health, including eating behaviors, physical activity, eating disorders/disordered eating, body image, and weight status. I have a strong interest in yoga and has explored yoga as a tool to address disordered eating behaviors, body dissatisfaction, and weight status. My qualitative, epidemiological, and intervention research has primarily focused on young people and families from ethnically/racially diverse communities.
I am the Principal Investigator of Project EAT (Eating and Activity over Time), a longitudinal body of research on eating, activity, and weight-related health among two large cohorts that have been followed from adolescence through adulthood. Additionally, I am the Principal Investigator for Research on Eating and Activity for Community Health (REACH): An Applied Epidemiology Training Program to Improve Weight-Related Health in Youth and Families from Diverse Communities, which provides training for the next generation of researchers dedicated to ensuring positive eating, activity, and weight-related health among youth and families from diverse communities.
I served as the Head of the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health from 2014-2023. In the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, we are dedicated to ensuring that our research is being translated into action, and that our teaching program is highly relevant and applicable, in order to ensure that we are building a healthier future for all.
Expertise
Awards and Recognition
- Regents Professor
- McKnight Presidential Professorship, University of Minnesota, 2020
- Award in Clinical, Administrative, or Education Service, Academy for Eating Disorders, 2019
- NIH Outstanding Investigator, 2018
- Member, AHC Academy for Excellence in Health Research, 2017
- Member, Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health
- Mayo Professor of Public Health, School of Public Health, 2016
- Thompson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher, 2014
- Leonard M. Schuman Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, 2012
- Leadership Award in Research: Academy for Eating Disorders, 2010
- Distinguished Women Scholars Award in Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts: University of Minnesota, 2009