Faculty Affiliates

Abshire

Demetrius A. Abshire, PhD, RN

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
abshired@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 576-6262

Research Interests:

  • Rural-urban health disparities
  • Obesity treatment for rural adults
  • Physical activity and nutrition
  • Psychosocial determinants of obesity and weight-related behaviors
Adams

Swann Arp Adams, Ph.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor, College of Nursing
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Assistant Director, Cancer Prevention and Control Program
swann.adams@sc.edu
(803) 576-5620

Research Interests:

  • Cancer health disparities among minority populations
  • Physical activity for cancer prevention and survivorship
  • Physical activity among African Americans
  • Self-report of physical activity
Beets

Michael W. Beets, Ph.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor, Department of Exercise Science
beets@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 777-3003

Research Interests:

  • Community-based interventions
  • Childhood obesity
  • Measurement of Obesogenic Behaviors
  • Intervention Design and Evaluation
Friedman

Daniela B. Friedman, MSc, Ph.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor and Department Chair, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
dfriedma@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 777-9933

Research Interests:

  • Health and cancer communication with diverse populations
  • Role of social context, media, and technology in health communication
    interventions
  • Health literacy measurement
  • Healthy aging and gerontology: cognitive health promotion
Fritz

Stacy Fritz, Ph.D., P.T.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor, Department of Exercise Science
Program Director, Physical Therapy Program
Director, Rehabilitation Laboratory
Division of Motor Control & Rehabilitation
sfritz@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 777-6887

Research Interests:

  • Walking as physical activity for older adults
  • Physical Activity for individuals with disability
Gillam

Pamela Gillam

Director, Core for Applied Research and Evaluation
gillamps@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 251-2297

Research Interests:

  • Evaluation
Hebert

James R. Hébert, MSPH, Sc.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Director, South Carolina Statewide Cancer Prevention and Control Program
jhebert@sc.edu
(803) 576-5666

Research Interests:

  • Dietary and physical activity assessments/ error detection/ modeling
  • Relationship between physical activity and dietary behaviors
  • Health effects of physical activity and fitness, especially on cancer outcomes
  • Physical activity & other health behaviors in relation to circadian rhythms
Liese

Angela D. Liese, Ph.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor,Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Director, Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities
liese@sc.edu
(803) 777-9414

Research Interests:

  • Nutritional epidemiology with focus on dietary patterns, quality indexes
  • Food insecurity, disparities in food access issues and their health consequences
  • Epidemiology of diabetes mellitus in children and adults and disparities in acute and chronic complications of diabetes
Liu

Jihong Liu, Sc.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
jliu@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 777-6854

Research Interests:

  • Obesity and physical activity in mothers and children
  • Health disparities
  • Perinatal health
  • Women’s health
Monroe

Courtney Monroe, PhD, EP-C

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
cmmonroe@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 576-5808

Research Interests:

  • Technology-based physical activity promotion
  • Social support and social networks to promote activity and manage weight
  • Health disparities and physical activity promotion
Pate

Russell R. Pate, Ph.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor, Department of Exercise Science
Director, Children’s Physical Activity Research Group
rpate@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 777-2456

Research Interests:

  • Physical activity and physical fitness in children
  • Health implications of physical activity
Pellegrini

Christine Pellegrini, PhD

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise Science
cpellegrini@sc.edu
(803) 777-0911

Research Interests:

  • Behavioral interventions for populations with mobility limitations
  • Obesity and weight management
  • Design of technology-supported programs
  • Physical activity assessment
Schooley

Benjamin Schooley, Ph.D., M.B.A.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Information Technology
College of Engineering and Computing
bschooley@cec.sc.edu
(803) 777-8223

Research Interests:

  • Health and medical informatics
  • Software design of health/healthcare applications
  • Health information technology development and testing
  • mHealth and eHealth
Thrasher

James Thrasher, Ph.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
thrasher@mailbox.sc.edu
803-777-4862

Research Interests:

  • Content and effects of mass media and mass media interventions on health behaviors, particularly tobacco
  • Policy development and evaluation of effects on health behaviors, particularly tobacco
  • Cross-cultural dissemination and implementation research
  • Interventions to address health disparities
Turner-McGrievy

Brie Turner-McGrievy, Ph.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior
Associate Professor and Deputy Director, SmartState Technology Center to Promote Healthy Lifestyles
brie@sc.edu
803-777-3932

Research Interests:

  • Emerging technologies to create health behavior changes
  • mHealth and eHealth
  • Vegetarian and vegan dietary approaches in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases
  • Obesity prevention and treatment
Weaver

Glenn Weaver, Ph.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise Science
weaverrg@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 777-5605

Research Interests:

  • Overweight and obesity treatment and prevention
  • Measurement of body composition and related health behaviors and environment
  • Process and outcome evaluation of interventions
  • Health disparities
West

Delia S. West, Ph.D.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Professor, Department of Exercise Science
Endowed Chair, SMART STATE Center for Technology Assisted Healthful Lifestyles
westds@mailbox.sc.edu
803-777-8826

Research Interests:

  • Behavioral obesity treatment, particularly among underserved populations and among individuals with obesity-related comorbid conditions like type 2 diabetes
  • Technology assisted behavioral interventions to promote weight control and healthy lifestyle behaviors
  • Motivational interviewing
  • Health disparities
Wright

Pamela J. Wright, PhD, MS, MEd, RN, CEN.

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Assistant Professor, Department of Biobehavioral Health and Nursing Science, College of Nursing
wrightpamelaj@sc.edu
(803) 777-6039

Research Interests:

  • Resistance exercise as therapeutic management for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
  • Technology-assisted behavioral interventions to promote exercise
  • Health-related quality-of-life among peri-postmenopausal women with PCOS
Yang

Chih-Hsiang “Jason” Yang, PhD

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Assistant Professor, Department of Exercise Science and TecHealth Center
cy11@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 777-1025

Research Interests:

  • Determinants and Consequences of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior
  • Mindful-movement Intervention and Healthy Aging
  • Mobile Health and Device-based Measures
  • Intensive Longitudinal Methods
Zarrett

Nicole Zarrett, PhD

Faculty Affiliate, Prevention Research Center
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences
zarrettn@mailbox.sc.edu
(803) 777-2970

Research Interests:

  • Child and adolescent obesity prevention and intervention
  • Physical activity and dietary behaviors on physical, social-psychological, and achievement-related health and well-being
  • The role of school and out-of-school programs in promoting healthy developmental pathways
  • Health disparities