Office Address:
West Bank Office Building, 300
Mailing Address:
1300 S. 2nd St.
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH
Regents Professor, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health
Titles
Member, Healthy Weight Research Center
Education
PhD, Behavioral Sciences and Nutrition, Hebrew University-Hadassah
MPH, Health Behavior, Hebrew University-Hadassah
BA, Biology and Nutrition, Cornell University
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 mindfulness and have 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 and socio-economically 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, which provides training for the next generation of researchers dedicated to ensuring positive eating, activity, and weight-related health among youth and families. Together with a team of faculty, post-doctoral scholars, and students at different levels, we have worked hard to widely disseminate our findings. We have published over 625 scientific articles, which have been cited over 100,000 times.
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
Weight-related health, adolescent, young adult and family health, dietary behaviors, physical activity, weight status, eating disorders, body image, yoga.
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
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