Department News

DFPM-RED’s Project PLAY is in the news!

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has highlighted the great work being led by a collaboration between UAMS, The Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, and Arkansas State University. Dr. Nikki Edge was lead with Project Play but special recognition should also be given to RED’s Angie Kyzer and Zach Patterson for the development and implementation of the online BehaviorHelp system. Dr. Edge developed Project Play, Ms. Kyzer has many talents but in this was key in conceptualizing the online system, and Mr. Patterson wrote the online computer code to make this effort a reality.

Read the full article.

New Funding for DFPM-RED

DFPM-RED’s Dr. Leanne Whiteside-Mansell, Dr. Daniel A. Knight, LaTunja Sockwell, and Cindy Crone have been awarded funding from Gilead Investigator Sponsored Research.

This project will implement HIV education within Pulaski County Drug Court (PCDC) one of 43 Arkansas Adult Drug Courts (ADC). The training was developed in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Health but will be modified to include clinical preventive options such as oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and risk of Hep C. The training, titled Embracing Healthy Love (EHL), has been piloted and continues in two northwest Arkansas drug courts by RED including Isis Martel.

$248,543; 18 months of funding – community health work to be hired, part time RA and trainer.

The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior selects DFPM-RED submission as “Best of 2018”!

“Congratulations on your manuscript “GEM NO. 570:

Together We Inspire Smart Eating: A Preschool Curriculum for Obesity Prevention in Low-Income Families” being selected as the 2018 Best GEM (Great Educational Materials). All GEMs published in a volume of the journal are evaluated by our Journal Committee, who selects the top articles to be voted on by our Board of Editors.

GEMs are evaluated based on the following criteria:

Innovativeness/creativity
Quality of design
Quality of the writing and presentation of the report
Quality of evaluation “

Nikki Edge, Ph.D., to be Promoted to Full Professor

Dr. Nicola “Nikki” Edge is being promoted to Full Professor in the UAMS College of Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine effective July 1, 2018. Congratulations to Dr. Edge on this wonderful, difficult and highly challenging accomplishment. It resulted from years and years of fabulous work and recognition for her many projects!

Nicola Edge joined the UAMS faculty in 2000 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 in the Department of Pediatrics. In 2010, her primary academic appointment was moved into the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. She is on the basic scientist researcher track.

Her research program is focused primarily on understanding factors that place children at risk for poor social and emotional outcomes, such as parenting concerns and traumatic experiences. She is also focused on early identification of at-risk children and designing, implementing and evaluating interventions for these high-risk children and their families.

Dr. Edge has:

More than 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts published or in press in key journals in her field such as Maternal Child Health, Child Abuse and Neglect, Journal of Family Psychology and Infant Mental Health Journal.
More than 90 presentations at national meetings, including 35 oral presentations (10 invited) and 55 posters.
More than 60 state and local oral presentations, including 33 invited presentations.
Community Service and Community Leadership

She also provides service as a long-term Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), a specialty trained volunteer on the child welfare system. Because of her expertise in supporting the social and emotional development of children, within Arkansas she has served on more than 10 boards, ad hoc planning groups or standing committees. Dr. Edge has been honored to receive two state awards recognizing her contributions to building the service system for young children and their families, including the AAIMH Bonnie Limbird Award recognizing her influence on policies and services systems dedicated to supporting the emotional well-being of young children in Arkansas.

Congratulations, Dr. Edge!

LaTunja Sockwell Receives Award from AIDSWatch

DFPM-RED’s LaTunja Sockwell applied and was awarded a very competitive travel award from AIDSWatch! She is one of 50 nationally awarded!

AIDSWatch is the largest annual national constituent-based advocacy event focused on HIV policy in the United States. The event draws hundreds of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their allies to Washington, DC for two days to educate Members of Congress and their staff about HIV. Participants will receive training on legislative priorities, relevant research that supports them, and how to conduct effective meetings with their elected representatives.

https://www.aidsunited.org/Policy-0024-Advocacy/AIDSWatch.aspx

RED Team Members represented WISE at Pike View Early Childhood Center

DFPM RED team members attended Tuesday’s Health Fair at Pike View Early Childhood Center in North Little Rock. We represented RED’s WISE program with Windy WISE the Owl bringing fruits and vegetable food choices for kids and parents. We also were there on behalf of RED’s HIV/STD prevention efforts!

DFPM RED research on Food Insecurity & Childhood Obesity

A recent paper (Published online: 22 Jun 2017) from DFPM RED researchers brings new statistics into the world of community-based evaluation. The study used non-inferiority testing to examine the relationship between obesity and food security in children aged 3 to 5 years.

While traditionally used in pharmacology, this approach has found a niche in measuring equality between groups to conclude children suffering from food insecurity experience rates of obesity equivalent to or above food secure peers. Having answered the relationship between obesity and food security, studies can move forward in the areas of food quality and other reasons underlying the high rates of obesity among starving youth.

ARTICLE: Application of Noninferiority Tests to Examine the Food Insecurity–Obesity Relationship in Children

Taren Swindle, Shalese Fitzgerald, Lorraine M. McKelvey & Leanne Whiteside-Mansell
Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition

Nikki Edge, Ph.D., named to College of Medicine Research Council

DFPM RED Faculty member Nikki Edge, Ph.D., (Associate Professor, Department of Family and Preventative Medicine) was recently added to the UAMS College of Medicine’s Research Council. The members of the new Research Council were recently announced by Richard P. Morrison, Ph.D. – Executive Associate Dean for Research | UAMS | College of Medicine.

DFPM RED recognized for work on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders

DFPM RED has recently participated in Arkansas’ 5th Annual Conference on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders held on Thursday, September 14, 2017. On Wednesday, September 6, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared the month of September to be FASD Awareness Month in Arkansas. The official proclamation was presented to DFPM RED Research Associate Angela Kyzer and Outreach Coordinator Annemarie McGahagan. The proclamation was presented by None for Nine task force Vice President, Carol Rangel. Kyzer was also recognized for her work on the Taskforce, of which she is a member. Awards were also given to DFPM RED team members Mark Currey and Alicia Hamilton for work connected to None for Nine.

DFPM RED studies connection between maternal depression/alcohol use and behavioral issues in children.

A recently published DFPM RED study examines the Effects of Maternal Depression Symptoms and Alcohol Use Problems

Maternal depression illustration on Child Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems. The study, which included DFPM RED faculty Nikki Edge, Ph.D. and Lorraine McKelvey, Ph.D., examined the impact of maternal depression and alcohol use problems on children’s behavior problems over a period of five years. The study included 1,874 Head Start eligible families. The study highlights the importance of understanding and treating various kinds of behavioral health concerns in mothers of young children.

Read the full, published article.