Dr. Sauder is a biobehavioral health researcher who studies how nutrition and other modifiable factors contribute to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases in women and children. I use observational and intervention methods to identify and test health behavior prevention strategies that have potential for widespread dissemination and implementation. On-going projects span the transgenerational cycle, including pregnancy, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and the child-bearing years.
Areas of Expertise
- Nutrition
- Maternal child health
- Health behaviors
- Epidemiology
- Clinical trials
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- PhD, Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University
Research
- NIDDK, Evaluating the effectiveness and sustainability of a lifestyle intervention to reduce diabetes risk factors among American Indian children (Tribal Turning Point), 2017-2022. Role: MPI
- American Diabetes Association, Developing and testing a home-based program to promote diet and activity behaviors in rural-dwelling children (Bennett Project), 2022-2025. Role: PI
- NHLBI, Promoting maternal/child cardiovascular health with a prenatal + postpartum lifestyle intervention delivered via home visiting nurses (ENRICH), 2022-2024. Role: MPI
- NIDDK, Promoting pre-conception weight loss to improve prenatal/neonatal outcomes among diverse women of child-bearing age (NDPP-NextGen), 2022-2027. Role: MPI
- NIH, Examining how prenatal/postnatal behaviors and lifestyle factors (nutrition, physical activity, mental health) predict maternal and child health outcomes in The Healthy Start Study and the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium, 2016-2023. Role: Co-I
- NIDDK, Understanding how lifestyle, clinical characteristics, and social determinants of health are related to diabetes management and cardiovascular health among individuals with youth-onset diabetes (SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study), 2018-2028. Role: Co-I (site PI)
Publications and Presentations
- Cohen CC, Harrall KK, Gilley SP, Perng W, Sauder KA, Scherzinger A, Shankar K, Sundaram SS, Glueck DH, Dabelea D. Body composition trajectories from birth to 5 years and hepatic fat in early childhood. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022 Oct 6;116(4):1010-1018. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqac168. PubMed PMID: 36055960; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9535524.
- Hoyt AT, Wilkinson AV, Langlois PH, Galeener CE, Ranjit N, Sauder KA, Dabelea DM, Moore BF. Prenatal exposure to tobacco and adverse birth outcomes: effect modification by folate intake during pregnancy. Matern Health Neonatol Perinatol. 2022 Sep 12;8(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s40748-022-00141-1. PubMed PMID: 36096906; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9465971.
- Bekelman TA, Dong Y, Elliott AJ, Ferrara A, Friesen K, Galarce M, Gilbert-Diamond D, Glueck DH, Hedderson MM, Hockett CW, Karagas MR, Knapp EA, Lucchini M, McDonald JC, Sauder KA, Dabelea D. Health Behavior Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis among Children. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 28;19(15). doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159220. PubMed PMID: 35954577; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9368377.
- Bekelman TA, Knapp EA, Dong Y, Dabelea D, Bastain TM, Breton CV, Carroll KN, Camargo CA, Davis AM, Dunlop AL, Elliott AJ, Ferrara A, Fry RC, Ganiban JM, Gilbert-Diamond D, Gilliland FD, Hedderson MM, Hipwell AE, Hockett CW, Huddleston KC, Karagas MR, Kelly N, Lai JS, Lester BM, Lucchini M, Melough MM, Mihalopoulos NL, O'Shea TM, Rundle AG, Stanford JB, VanBronkhorst S, Wright RJ, Zhao Q, Sauder KA. Sociodemographic Variation in Children's Health Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Child Obes. 2022 Jul 19;. doi: 10.1089/chi.2022.0085. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 35856858.
- Cohen CC, Francis EC, Perng W, Sauder KA, Scherzinger A, Sundaram SS, Shankar K, Dabelea D. Exposure to maternal fuels during pregnancy and offspring hepatic fat in early childhood: The healthy start study. Pediatr Obes. 2022 Jul;17(7):e12902. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.12902. Epub 2022 Feb 5. PubMed PMID: 35122420; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9177565.
