Author: Jennifer Gay

Many congratulations to Dr. Erika Rees-Punia for successfully her dissertation this afternoon. Her study, “Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in the Cancer Prevention Studies” included three manuscripts; two assessing the reliability and validity of the Cancer Prevention Studies’ physical activity and sedentary behavior measures, and a third examining mortality risk reduction associated with sedentary behavior, light-intensity, and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity in the Cancer Prevention Studies cohort. Dr. Rees-Punia’s committee was chaired by Ellen Evans, and included Jennifer Gay (PACE Lab), Michael Schmidt, and Alpa Patel. Dr. Rees-Punia will continue her research as a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Alpa Patel at the American Cancer Society. Congratulations again to Dr. Rees-Punia!

Dr. Jennifer Gay, Director of PACE Lab, has been added to the faculty in the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at UGA. This affiliation allows her to mentor students and serve on committees within the Institute. Dr. Gay has collaborated with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence for several years, and has published three papers with other faculty and students there.

Today Marilyn Wolff defended her dissertation prospectus, titled, “Do Social Support and Physical Activity Impact Employee Job Stress, Burnout, and Well-Being?”. She plans to collect data from several hundred employees from the healthcare sector to examine the intersection of work and non-work social support and physical activity on employee health. Congratulations Marilyn!

A recent paper published by Dr. Jennifer Gay has been highlighted in the ASPPH Friday Newsletter. This study is part of a larger project examining the relationship between occupational physical activity and adiposity across a variety of labor sectors. Read the full article here!

Dr. Jennifer Gay and colleagues recently published an article in Preventive Medicine Reports that found, in a cross-sectional study, adults workers who do more light-intensity activity at work do less activity during their free time. Light-intensity activities at work can include walking from one office to another, from your car to your office, or going to meetings. However, workers who engaged in more moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity, like taking the stairs, did more activity outside of work. Something to think about when planning your next worksite wellness program! Full text of the article can be found here.

Rosemary Corriero, MPH recently had her Capstone paper accepted for publication. Her manuscript, titled, “HPV Uptake Pre- and Post-Affordable Care Act: Variation by Insurance Status, Race, and Education (NHANES 2006-2014)” will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. This paper is an extension of a presentation Rosemary gave at the 2016 Society of Behavioral Medicine  Annual Meeting (more here) and her Capstone project for her MPH. Fellow PACE Lab graduate Ellen Stowe is a co-author on this paper. Congratulations on this fantastic accomplishment!

Dr. Gay and several PACE Lab students have received funding from the UGA Division of Student Affairs to examine the impact of studying behaviors on Vitamin D levels in college students. This project is student-driven research designed to provide research and health promotion outreach opportunities for undergraduate students in the PACE Lab. More on this study here.