The PACE Lab is recruiting for worksites in Georgia to take part in an intervention study to increase physical activity of employees who spend a lot of time sitting at work. Research has linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health issues, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and poor mental health. The average American sits nearly 8 hours per day, and much of this sitting happens at work. This project is testing the impact of a seated active workstation with employee sedentary time, mood, and productivity. Please contact Dr. Jennifer Gay for more information, jlgay@uga.edu or (706) 542-6698.

A story featuring Dr. Jennifer Gay’s research, teaching, and student mentoring was posted on the homepage of the University of Georgia’s website today. Dr. Gay discusses what she finds interesting about her research, her teaching style, and some of her favorite things to do in her free time. You can find the full story here. Many thanks to the Clinical and Translational Research Unit (https://ctru.uga.edu/) for their support of Dr. Gay’s research and allowing the photo to be taken in their space!

The PACE Lab would like to congratulate Rosemary Corriero and Kaitlyn Pannell on their new positions! Kaitlyn Pannell, MPH is serving as the Newton County Wellness Coordinator, working on an employee wellness program. This position builds on her experience during her MPH internship planning worksite wellness programs for Athens Regional Medical Center.

Rosemary Corriero, MPH is an ORISE Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She works in the Office of Infectious Disease in the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, Immunization Services Division. Her main focus is the evaluation of the CDC billables project (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/billables-project/), where she utilizes her quantitative and qualitative analysis skills. Hew new position extends the work of her MPH Capstone project examining rates of HPV vaccination before and after the Affordable Care Act.

Congratulations to both of you!

Ellen Wenders, a graduated MPH student under Dr. Jennifer Gay, was awarded the Presidential Fellowship to study physical activity and the built environment with Dr. Andrew Kaczynski and the BEACH Lab at the University of South Carolina. The Presidential Fellowship provides four years of support for doctoral students at the university. Ellen is one of 10 new PhD students to be awarded the Fellowship in the Arnold School of Public Health. Full story from the Arnold School of Public Health here. Congratulations Ellen!

With the start of the new school year we welcome new students to the PACE Team. Check out Catriona Geddes’ and Heather Bornstein’s profiles on our PACE Team page. We are so glad you are part of the group!

Check out one of our awesome stair climbing participants at the new Clinical and Translational Research Unit at UGA! We are learning about different activities to help control blood sugar during the day. For more information on our Clinical and Translational Research Unit, check out their Facebook page!