Director: Diana Thomas, Ph.D. is an associate professor of mathematics and Director of the Center for Quantitative Obesity Research at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Her research involves applications of mathematics to guide and inform patients regulating their body weight. Dr. Thomas’ models combine data collected from clinical trials involving human body weight regulation stretching back over a century to arrive at mathematically driven conclusions. Some of the questions she is investigating are “Why do individuals not lose more weight during exercise?”, “How can we objectively monitor diet in humans?”, and “What explains differences in weight change between individuals?” Dr. Thomas works closely with an interdisciplinary team of experts in nutrition, exercise, physiology, and medicine.

 

 

 

Amanda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., MPH is an associate professor of public health and the Graduate Program Coordinator of the Master of Public Health in Community Health Education at Montclair State University. Her research interests focus on understanding and improving eating and physical activity behaviors, particularly among adolescents. Working from a social ecological perspective, Dr. Birnbaum combines quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate social environmental factors, such as neighborhood and school environments, as they relate to diet and physical activity. She also collaborates on developing and evaluating both local and national initiatives aimed at promoting healthier eating and physical activity among families and communities.

 

 

 

Michele Fisher, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator in Exercise Science and Physical Education at Montclair State University. Her research interests include the role of exercise in the management of cardiovascular risk factors and the application of age-appropriate physical activity in children and adolescents. She is the primary author of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) 2006 Guidelines for Undergraduate Exercise Physiology in a Physical Education Teacher Education Program and has published 17 refereed articles or abstracts, along with numerous professional presentations. Michele is an active member of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Dance (AAHPERD) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), having served on several committees related to Exercise Physiology and Research Programming over the years. She is also certified as a Clinical Exercise Specialist from the ACSM and has served as a lecturer and examiner for ACSM certification workshops for Health Fitness Specialist and Clinical Exercise Specialist.

 

David Konas, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of chemistry at Montclair State University. His research involves applying chemistry and chemical methods to answering questions related to health and medicine. Dr. Konas was a research associate and fellow at the Cleveland Clinic and maintains a collaboration with scientists there. Dr. Konas is currently working on the synthesis of modified biological compounds and the analysis of actual prepared food nutrient content found in various foodservice environments.

 

 

 

Elena Petroff, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Molecular Biology at Montclair State University. Her research involves investigation of the mechanisms that trigger the growth of glial tumors, the most commonly observed brain tumor. She is currently supported by a National Institutes of Health grant to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in ion channel interaction in glial cells and determine the effects of ion channel interaction on cell growth, proliferation, and migration. Dr. Petroff is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and the American Physiological Society. She currently serves on the Awards Committee of the American Physiological Society.