The project that started it all.  Let’s Get Healthy! is an education and research exhibit that teaches individuals about their own health and returns personalized, tailored feedback based on their results.  Let's Get Healthy! has been used with schools, museums, communities and workplaces nationally and internationally.  

Data collection modules: Stress, diet, sleep, health-related quality of life (including mental health, physical health, pain), physical activity, alcohol use, tobacco use, life satisfaction, cognitive function, and more

Focus areas:  Health informatics, health behavior, personalized feedback, science education, global health, survey validation, data analysis

Awards:  

• 2015 Technology Award from from the Society of Public Health Education

• 2014 International Serious Play Award, Silver Medal - "Nurture your Nature"

• 2012 International Serious Play Award, Silver Medal - "UV Radical Ray Rampage" 

Easy to implement | Supports project-based training of health professionals

Learn more:

• Let's Get Healthy! website: www.letsgethealthy.org
• Marriott, L.K., Cameron, W.E., Purnell, J.Q, Cetola, S, Ito, M.K., Williams, C.D., Newcomb, K.C., Randall, J.A., Messenger, W.B., Lipus, A.C. and J. Shannon (2012). Let’s Get Healthy! Health awareness through public participation in an education and research exhibit. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 6(3), 331. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353%2Fcpr.2012.0041 
• Marriott, L. K., Lipus, A. C., Choate, L., Smith, J., Coppola, L., Cameron, W. E., & Shannon, J. (2015). Experiential learning through participatory action research in public health supports community-based training of future health professionals. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 1(4), 220-232. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177%2F2373379915601119 

STEM Assessment and Reporting Tracker (START) aims to enhance students' Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) identity development and persistence by supporting statewide schools and STEM programs in the measurement, immediate analyses, and real-time reporting of psychosocial factors that influence students' success in STEM. The project develops the STEM Assessment And Reporting Tracker (START), an online tool that assess psychosocial factors associated with STEM persistence, such as motivational resilience, mindset, STEM interest, STEM identity, and science self-efficacy.  START returns immediate, tailored e-feedback aimed at supporting students' STEM development while rapidly informing STEM programs' efforts. This project is funded by a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Institutes of Health (R25GM129840).

Data collection modules: Science identity, STEM interest, mindset, science self-efficacy, motivational resilience. Can be linked with health measures above. Inclusive demographic data collection support collection of disaggregated racial/ethnic backgrounds, functional limitations associated with disability, disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as gender identity and sexual orientation.

Focus areas:  Health informatics, inclusive demographics, personalized feedback, STEM development, qualitative methods, workforce development, teacher professional development, data analysis

Psychosocial contexts | STEM development | Inclusive demographics

Learn more:

• STEM Assessment and Reporting Tracker (START) website
• Marriott, L.K., Coppola, L., Mitchell, S.H., Bouwma-Gearhart, J., Zhen, Z. Shifrer, D., Feryn, A.B., and J. Shannon (2019).  Opposing effects of impulsivity and mindset on science self-efficacy and STEM interest in adolescents.  PLOS One. 14(8): e0201939. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201939

Epigenetics describes how environmental exposures and our experiences can change how our DNA works in the body.  Prior work developed Nurture your Nature, interactive digital media for teaching epigenetics to middle school students. We also ran a teacher professional development program, which created additional lessons and resources for teaching this new area of science.  

Recently, a new grant (R43ES031414) from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences was funded focused on using epigenetics to teach environmental health literacy. It is a small business innovation research grant (SBIR) between Nzumbe Epigenetics and OHSU to develop educational digital media to teach epigenetic and environmental health concepts to high school and undergraduate students.  The project develops an epigenetics reporter toolkit using the fungus, Neurospora, that can be used in college classroom laboratories to teach epigenetic and environmental health principles.

Focus areas:  Epigenetics, health promotion, environmental health, health literacy, student evaluation

Awards

• 2014 International Serious Play Award, Silver Medal - "Nurture your Nature" (Epigenetics Education)

Learn more:

• About epigenetics via Learn Environmental Health or Let's Get Healthy! 
• Marriott, L.K., Charbonneau, A., Moss, B., Shannon, J., Thornburg, K., & Turker, M. (2016). Epigenetics: A new science for middle school-and why you should teach it. Science Scope, 39(6), 6.   Available via Proquest
• Charbonneau, A., Moss, B., & Marriott, L. (2015). The surprising patterns of health and disease. Science Scope, 38(7), 64. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4985241/

A Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA)-funded project in collaboration with educators from West Virginia University's Health Sciences & Technology Academy (HSTA). This project was born out of the cancellation of the 2020 USA Science and Engineering Festival, and presented an opportunity to develop a research project in which science education and research training were embedded.

Explore online training modules and educator materials about photovoice, which you can use to engage new learners in a photovoice project, both as participants in research and research trainees. Students are able to complete training, participate in photography and narrative development, and learn qualitative research methods they can use in future projects. All materials developed are available for educator, student, and researcher use at no cost. 

This project is funded by a Science Education Partnership (SEPA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), via grant number R25 GM129840-03 to LKM. 

Explore: Learn Qualitative Methods (Photovoice page);  Learn Photovoice 

With science advances, we're now able to test for specific genetic markers that are associated with increased risk for cancer.  Such tests are known as "predictive cancer genetic testing" and are being offered at no cost to Oregonians through the Healthy Oregon Project.  

Our lab helped with statewide focus groups that examined public perceptions of predictive genetic testing.  These results were used to develop educational materials to help Oregonians better understand the testing process.

Learn more:

• Alvord, T. W., Marriott, L. K., Nguyen, P. T., Shafer, A., Brown, K., Stoller, W., Volpi, J., Vandehey, J., Ferrara, L., Blakesley, S., Solomon, E, Kuehl, H, Palma, A, Farris, P, Cotter, M., and J. Shannon  (2020). Public perception of predictive cancer genetic testing and research in Oregon. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 29(2), 259-281. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1262

The sun's ultraviolet rays damage DNA, which can lead to skin cancer.  Our lab applies health informatics-based approaches for providing sun safety education, including tailored health education through Let's Get Healthy! and video game development ("UV Radical Ray Rampage"; developed in collaboration with University of California, Davis (PI: M. Molinaro; M. Steinwachs, H. Jones).

Our lab also studies approaches for assessing skin sensitivity using reflectance spectroscopy (collaboration with Dr. Ravi Samatham, Department of Dermatology, OHSU).

Focus areas:  Health promotion, data analysis, survey development, survey validation, social justice

Awards

• 2012 International Serious Play Award, Silver Medal - "UV Radical Ray Rampage" (action platform video game for teaching sun safety education)

The Knight Scholars Program is funded by the National Cancer Institute's YES Initiative and provides cancer research training for Oregon high school students.  Scholars receive a tiered three year training program that includes clinical, public health, and outreach shadowing opportunities in addition to research training at OHSU.  Students are paid a stipend and housed in residence halls while at OHSU each summer. The program is only open to students at Jefferson High School (Portland), Culver High School, Klamath High School and Klamath Tribes, Madras High School and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and Woodburn High Schools. A new $1M grant from the Kuni Foundation expands efforts to include new sites in Portland metro and Eastern Oregon.

Dr. Marriott is a co-investigator on the grant and involved with curricular design and mentorship.

Focus areas:  Workforce development, mentoring, cancer, statistical analyses

Learn more:

• Knight Scholars Program website
• Marriott, L.K., Shugerman, S.R., Chavez, A., Crocker Daniel, L., Martinez, A., Zebroski, D.J., Mishalanie, S., Zell, A., Dest, A., Pozhidayeva, D., Wenzel, E.S., Omotoy, H.L., Druker, B.J., Shannon, J. (2022).  Knight Scholars Program: A tiered three-year mentored training program for urban and rural high school high school students increases interest and self-efficacy in interprofessional cancer research. Journal of STEM Outreach. 5(2), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.15695/jstem/v5i2.06
• Huerta, J.J., Figuracion, M. T. , Vazquez-Cortes, A., Hanna, R.R.,  Hernandez, A.C. , Benitez, S.B., Sipelii, M.N. , Brooks, T., ZuZero, D.T., Iopu, F.M.R.V., Romero, C.R., Chavez, A., Zell, A., Shugerman, S.R., Shannon, J.S., Marriott, L.K. (2022). Interprofessional near-peer mentoring teams enhance cancer research training: sustainable approaches for biomedical workforce development of historically underrepresented students. Journal of STEM Outreach, 5 (2), 1-14.  https://doi.org/10.15695/jstem/v5i2.10 

As the largest member of the NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) consortium, Enhancing Cross- Disciplinary Infrastructure and Training at Oregon (EXITO) is a partnership of universities and community colleges around the Pacific Rim, including Portland State University, Oregon Health & Sciences University, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Guam, America Samoa Community College, Clackamas Community College (OR), Clark Community College (WA), Northern Marianas Community College, and Portland Community College (OR). 

Dr. Marriott is a co-investigator on the project and has taught Enrichment (biomedical research paths) to junior scholars since 2017.

Focus areas:  Workforce development, mentoring, bioinformatics, longitudinal data analysis

Learn more:

• Marriott, L.K*., Raz Link, A*, Anitori, R., Blackwell, E., Blas, A., Brock, J, Burke, T, Cabrera, A.P., Helsham, D., Liban, L.B., Mackiewicz, M.R., Maruyama, M., Milligan-Myhre, K.C.A., Pangelinan, P.J.C., Hattori-Uchima, M., Reed, R., Simon, B.E., Solomon, B., Trinidad, A.M.O., Wyatt, L.R., Delgado Covarrubia, A., Burrows, J.A., Zell, A., Keller, T, Morris, C, Crespo, C.  (2021).  Supporting biomedical research training for historically underrepresented undergraduates using interprofessional, informal curricular structures.  Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 21(1), 241-286. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/josotl/article/view/30430  doi: 10.14434/josotl.v21i1.30430   [*Joint first author]

Worksite Wellness with Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS) - Bangkok, Thailand

BDMS is the largest hospital system in SE Asia.  Let's Get Healthy! is being used for worksite wellness, where its content and personalized e-feedback are entirely in Thai.

Focus areas:  Health promotion, global health, adaptation and user testing, survey validation

Learn more: 

• Shannon, J., Kunanusont, C., Rein, J., Petchkrua, W., Rischitelli, G., Leechawengwongs, E., Siripool, P., Kunawudhi, G., Pakhunanittha, C., Schuff, R.A., Chokpocasombut, A., Kohlakklang, P., Juneja, R., Marriott, L.K., Montgomery, D., Hendrickson, R.G., and Denny, J.  (2017). Raising the Bar for Occupational Health Care through International Health Alliance: A Twinning Framework to Enhance and Expand Occupational Health Services at Bangkok Dusit Medical Services. The Bangkok Medical Journal, 13(2), 101-101. https://doi.org/10.31524/bkkmedj.2017.09.019

Microbiome clinical trial - Chiang Rai, Thailand

• Collaboration with Mae Fah Luang University's Public Health researchers to study the "Effect of Sin Lek Rice on cognitive learning and fecal microbiota of Ban Huai Rai Samakee elementary school children in Chiang Rai"

Focus areas:  Global health, learning & memory, nutrition, clinical trial, intervention, longitudinal data analysis, microbiome

Learn more: 

• Gruneck, L., Gentekaki, E., Kespechara, K., Denny, J., Sharpton, T.J., Marriott, L.K. Shannon, J., Popluechai, S. (2022, in press).  The fecal microbiota of Thai school-age children associated with anthropological factors and diet.  Accepted by PeerJ in April, 2022.

Let's Get Healthy! is part of Oregon Clinical Translational Research Institute's Community Engagement and Collaboration Core (Funded by NIH NCATS via 5UL1TR002369). We collaborate with their Community Research Hub to work with Oregon communities and organizations.

Pacific Crest Affordable Housing was interested in measuring whether stable housing improved health outcomes for its residents at these housing complexes:

• The IronHorse Lodge serves residents 55 years and older with household incomes at or below 60 percent of area median income. The complex ​offers one and two-bedroom units, common areas and raised bed gardens. IronHorse Lodge features green building standards which result in buildings that are highly efficient with low utility costs. The Lodge is modeled after the company’s award-winning Little Deschutes Lodge II in La Pine.

• A second property, Azimuth 315, was studied in 2019-2021.

• A third property, Canal Commons, opened in early 2021 and will also be measuring pre/post impact of stable housing in 2021-2022.

Dr. Marriott and her lab are involved with data collection and analysis of resulting Let's Get Healthy! data.

Focus areas:  Health promotion, pre/post data analysis, social determinants of health

Drawing of core projects in 2019 and how they feed off of each other