Diabetes Experts
Cynthia Fritschi
Expert on: Diabetes, self-care behaviors, real-time data collection
Dr. Cynthia Fritschi is an associate professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science. Her research has focused on the relationships between physical function, physical activity and system experiences among obese, sedentary adults with Type 2 diabetes. The overarching goal of her research is to develop real-world physical activity interventions in aging, urban adults with or at risk for cardiometabolic diseases to maximize metabolic health, enhance quality of life, and attenuate the risks for early disability associated with being sedentary.
Dr. Fritschi has conducted behavioral intervention studies in which she assesses the effects of using real-time continuous physical activity and glucose monitoring to examine the psychological, behavioral, and glucose outcomes in aging adults with Type 2 diabetes.
Bilgay Izci-Balserak
Expert on: Sleep and circadian science, maternal health, cardiometabolic and cognitive research, health inequalities, advanced research methodologies
Dr. Bilgay Izci Balserak’s research program explores the intricate and interconnected landscape of sleep and circadian health, maternal-fetal well-being, metabolic and cardiovascular health, cognitive function, and the profound influence of social determinants of health. Her work is driven by a commitment to improving health outcomes and health equity across vulnerable populations.
Her lab integrates:
- Objective Sleep Assessment: Polysomnography, home sleep test/s and actigraphy for precise, real-world sleep measurement.
- Physiological Data Collection: Blood samples for biomarker analysis, including glucose and inflammatory markers.
- Digital Health Tools: Use of wearable devices for continuous monitoring of health behaviors and outcomes such as smart watches, Continues Glucose Monitoring system.
- Data Science Approaches: Integration of electronic health records, REDCap-based surveys, data collected by wearable devices, physiological data and advanced statistical modeling.
- Behavioral Interventions: Culturally tailored strategies to promote behavior change.
Currently, Dr. Balserak leads an ongoing NIH-funded randomized controlled trial (RCT) focused on implementing culturally-tailored behavioral sleep interventions. This groundbreaking work aims to enhance maternal-fetal outcomes and directly alleviate health inequalities, particularly within vulnerable populations.
She actively welcomes students (undergraduate, graduate), postdoctoral fellows, and interdisciplinary collaborators interested in projects that apply innovative approaches to address complex health challenges. Her lab offers rich, hands-on training in sleep and circadian sciences, maternal health, cardiometabolic and cognitive research, health equity, and advanced research methodologies.
Pamela Martyn-Nemeth
Expert on: Quality of life in patients with Type 1 diabetes
Dr. Pamela Martyn-Nemeth is a professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science. Her research goal is to reduce cardiovascular disease and improve the quality of life in persons with Type 1 diabetes. She examines barriers to T1D management and develops testing interventions to improve glucose control and quality of life. Dr. Martyn-Nemeth has focused on stressors such as fear of hypoglycemia and sleep, coping and eating behavior.
Onome Henry Osokpo
Expert on: Self-care, care transitions, and health disparities in adults with complex health/social needs
Dr. Onome Henry Osokpo is an assistant professor in the Department of Population Health Nursing Science. His research aims to reduce health disparities, advance health equity, and mitigate adverse social determinants of health with a particular focus on improving self-care and transitions of care for vulnerable adult populations, including Black/African immigrants and their caregivers. Dr. Osokpo’s research goal is to understand and address the multilevel barriers to health care, including sociocultural (language), economic, behavioral, and system (organizational) barriers that adversely impact the health and outcomes of vulnerable adults with chronic disease and complex health and social needs.
Lauretta Quinn
Expert on: Improving health of diabetics, diabetes complications
Dr. Lauretta Quinn is a clinical professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science. Her research program focuses on improving the health of people with diabetes and reducing the burden of diabetes complications. Her research has examined the interaction of psychological (e.g. quality of life) behavioral (e.g. diabetes self-management), and physiological (e.g. substrate response to exercise) aspect of diabetes. Her early research focused on examining the effect of aerobic exercise on the metabolic derangements of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and their relationship to CVD disease. Dr. Quinn has collaborated on research that contributes to the development of an artificial pancreas for people with Type 1 diabetes. She also researches sleep and glycemic variability in Type 1 diabetes. Metabolic measurements are central to her work and have included measures of insulin resistance, glucose tolerance, energy expenditure, physical activity measurements, and continuous glucose monitoring in both Types 1 and 2 diabetes.
Lisa Sharp
Expert on: Improving health of marginalized individuals due to race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status
Dr. Lisa Sharp is a professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science and is associate dean for research, leading the college’s Office of Research Facilitation. She is a behavioral scientist with training in nursing sciences, social psychology, and health psychology. Her research focuses on developing patient-centered behavioral interventions that aim to support people in managing their health and chronic diseases. This work centers the contextualized lives of the individuals with whom she seeks to support which means that the social determinants of health and individual-level health-related social needs are critical.