Completed Research Projects
Informing a Couple-Based Intervention during Pregnancy
Common Name: Couples in Pregnancy (CiP)
PI: Joshua R. Sparks (PBRC Greaux Healthy Childhood Obesity Initiative; American Rescue Plan)
This study is designed to understand the needs and desires of, barriers and facilitators to, and perceptions of engagement in a couple-based intervention during pregnancy. This study is also designed to help researchers who develop interventions during pregnancy to include the couple to aid in successfully changing lifestyle behaviors, such as diet and physical activity.
Understanding the Involvement of Partners in Health and Lifestyle Decision Making: An Ancillary Study of the Healthy Mama’s Trial
Common Name: Partners Understanding Pregnancy (PUP)
PI: Joshua R. Sparks (PBRC LPFA Endowed Fellow)
The overall objective of PUP will be to examine perceived health, perceptions of familial role and household decision making, and health behaviors, such as diet and physical activity, during pregnancy of the partners of women enrolled in Healthy Mamas.
A Weight Maintenance Program Promoting Fat Loss in Pregnancy in Women with Grade 2 and 3 Obesity
Common Name: HealthyMamas
Co-PIs: Leanne M. Redman (PBRC) and Suzanne Phelan (Cal Poly); National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01DK124806
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT04028843
Funding Duration: 2020-2025
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Duration: 08/03/2020-01/05/2024
The aims of HealthyMamas are to determine the effects of fat mass loss during pregnancy on changes in 1) maternal weight, fat mass, and cardiometabolic risk factors; 2) safety measures, including fetal and neonatal growth; 3) the mediators and moderators of the fat mass loss intervention and 4) the effect gestational fat mass loss has on reducing incidence of adverse obstetrical outcomes, including non-elective cesarean delivery, gestational diabetes, hypertension, and pre-eclampsia.
A Smartphone Intervention for WIC Mothers to Improve Nutrition and Weight Gain During Pregnancy
Common Name: SmartMoms in WIC
PI: Leanne M. Redman; National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01NR017644
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT04028843
Funding Duration: 2019-2024
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Duration: 08/03/2020-01/05/2024
The objective of SmartMoms in WIC is to promote healthy gestational weight gain during pregnancy using a mobile phone-based weight management program for mothers enrolled in the USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Infant Formula and Toddler Drink Feeding Study
Common Name: Greaux Baby
PI: Leanne M. Redman; Abbott Laboratories
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT04028843
Explore how early life nutrition, specifically human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), impacts the health and development of formula fed infants and toddlers through 24 months of age.
Effect of Sleep Restriction on Adipose Tissue and Skeletal Muscle Insulin Sensitivity
Common Name: SLEEP-IN
PI: Kara L. Marlatt
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT04286451
The overarching hypothesis is that sleep restriction will reduce skeletal muscle and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity compared to habitual sleep.
Development of a Novel Method to Measure Insulin Sensitivity in Humans: A Pilot Study
Common Name: CGM-PEPTIDE
PI: Eric Ravussin
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT04774081
This study will determine whether the ratio between 24h C-peptide urinary excretion rate and average 24h circulating glucose represent a good correlate of what is measured by the gold standard, i.e., M (glucose disposal rate) from a euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp.
Validating a Novel Approach to Assess Metabolic Flexibility in a Respiratory Chamber
Common Name: METFLEX II
PI: David H. McDougal
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT05110274
This study is designed to test the reliability of a novel procedure for measuring metabolic flexibility, i.e., the ability to quickly adapt macronutrient oxidation to macronutrient availability, in a respiratory chamber.
The Effect of Myelin-Relevant Nutrients in Infant Formula on Brain Myelination and Cognitive Development
Common Name: CONNECT
PI: Leanne M. Redman; Abbott Laboratories
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03111927
Understand the role of early life nutrition on brain and cognitive development during infancy and early childhood.
Salivary Insulin, Cortisol, and Estrogen in the First Year Postpartum
Common Name: PWAS Salivary Hormone Analysis
Co-PIs: Erin E. Kishman & Xuewen Wang; University of South Carolina’s Support to Promote Advancement of Research and Creativity (SPARC) Graduate Research Grant.
Funding Duration: May 2021-May 2022
Consultant Duration: May 2021-May 2022
The overall goal of this project is to examine if hormone levels are associated with changes in weight, body fat, or weight retention at different timepoints during the first year postpartum.
Effects of Sleep Deficiency During Postpartum on Body Weight and Body Fat Changes in African American and White Women
Common Name: Postpartum Weight and Sleep (PWAS)
PI: Xuewen Wang; National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH/NIMHD) R21MD012740-01
Funding Duration: 08/01/2018-07/15/2020
Research Assistant Duration: 08/01/2018-05/31/2020
The purpose of this study is to comprehensively examine the effects of sleep deficiency during postpartum, using a longitudinal design and assessing multiple sleep metrics, on body weight and body fat among both African American and White women.
The Effect of a 12-Week Aerobic Treadmill Exercise Intervention on Markers of Glucose Metabolism
Common Name: Aerobic Treadmill Exercise And Metabolism (The A-TEAM)
Co-PIs: Joshua R. Sparks & Xuewen Wang; University of South Carolina’s Support to Promote Advancement of Research and Creativity (SPARC) Graduate Research Grant #11530-17-43917
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03162991
Funding Duration: 05/01/2017-04/30/2019
The overall objective of this study was to determine the effect of an aerobic exercise intervention on glucose concentrations utilizing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology in a group of sedentary, overweight or obese individuals. A secondary objective was to compare fasting blood concentrations of glucose regulatory hormones from pre- to post-intervention.
Effects of Sleep Restriction on Body Composition and Energy Expenditure during Dietary Weight Loss
Common Name: Weight Outlooks by Restriction of Diet and Sleep (WORDS)
PI: Xuewen Wang; American Heart Association (AHA) 14BGIA20380706
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02413866
Funding Duration: 07/01/2014-12/31/2016
The objective of this study was to compare body composition and components of energy expenditure after two interventions: caloric restriction alone vs. caloric restriction combined with sleep restriction, for 8 weeks in overweight or obese adults.
Energy Expenditure Responses to Acute and Chronic Exercise in Older Women
Common Name: Women’s Energy Expenditure in Walking Programs (WeWalk)
PI: Xuewen Wang; National Institutes of Health/National Institutes on Aging (NIH/NIA) R00AG031297-05
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01722136
Funding Duration: 06/15/2012-05/31/2016 (NCE: 06/01/2015-05/31/2016)
Research Assistant Duration: 07/31/2014-01/31/2015
The goal of this study was to determine whether older women experience greater energy expenditure compensation in response to higher-dose vs. lower-dose chronic exercise and to analyze metabolic, cardiovascular, sleep, and immune response changes in sedentary older women after a 16-week aerobic exercise intervention.
Effect of Recovery Mode on Lactate Removal Following an Aerobic Bout of Exercise
Co-PIs: Joshua R. Sparks & Kelly A. Brooks
Duration: 9/15/2011-5/21/2012
The purpose of this study was to establish whether active or passive recovery is more beneficial in the clearance of blood lactate following an aerobic bout of exercise.
The Impact of Access to Recreational and Fitness Facilities on Performance Outcomes in Volunteer Firefighters
PI: Brian Coyne
Duration: 8/15/2009-5/21/2010
The purpose of this study was to examine the role, and to what extent, that access to 24-hour recreational and fitness facilities impacts performance outcomes in volunteer firefighters in Monroe, LA.