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Donna Spruijt-Metz

Associate Professor of Research

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Keck School of Medicine

Send E-mail to:   dmetz@usc.edu 
Telephone: 626-457-6631Fax: 626-457-4012
Office: HAS 4101Mail Code: 0000 OTH

Education:
BFA 1974 Music - California Institute of the Arts, California
MFA 1976 Flute (Performance) - California Institute of the Arts, California
MFA 1980 Flute (Pedagogy) - Royal Conservatory Den Haag, The Netherlands
BS 1986 Psychology - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BS 1986 Psychology - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BS 1986 Psychology - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BS 1986 Psychology - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BS 1986 Psychology - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BS 1986 Psychology - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BS 1986 Psychology - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
MS 1991 Psychology (Research Methods) - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
MS 1991 Psychology (Research Methods) - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
MS 1991 Psychology (Research Methods) - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
MS 1991 Psychology (Research Methods) - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
MS 1991 Psychology (Research Methods) - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
MS 1991 Psychology (Research Methods) - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
MS 1991 Psychology (Research Methods) - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
MS 1991 Psychology (Research Methods) - University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
PhD 1996 Adolescent Health/Medical Ethics - Free University, Amsterdam
PhD 1996 Adolescent Health/Medical Ethics - Free University, Amsterdam
PhD 1996 Adolescent Health/Medical Ethics - Free University, Amsterdam
PhD 1996 Adolescent Health/Medical Ethics - Free University, Amsterdam
PhD 1996 Adolescent Health/Medical Ethics - Free University, Amsterdam
PhD 1996 Adolescent Health/Medical Ethics - Free University, Amsterdam
PhD 1996 Adolescent Health/Medical Ethics - Free University, Amsterdam
PhD 1996 Adolescent Health/Medical Ethics - Free University, Amsterdam
MFA 2008 Creative Writing - Otis College of Art and Design
MFA 2008 Creative Writing - Otis College of Art and Design
MFA 2008 Creative Writing - Otis College of Art and Design
MFA 2008 Creative Writing - Otis College of Art and Design

Started at USC: 1999

Research Topics: Cancer Prevention/Epidemiology, Developmental Biology, Diabetes/Metabolic Diseases, Disease Prevention

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Research Description

 

Spruijt-Metz's research focuses on pediatric obesity, human motivation and adolescent health, particularly in the areas of diet and physical activity. Why do adolescents participate in behaviors that they know may negatively impact their health and well being (such as eating junk food), and shun behaviors that they know might help them reach their personal goals (such as physical activity)? Current studies include a longitudinal study of the impact of puberty on insulin dynamics, mood and physical activity in African American and Latina girls. This study is funded by NCI and is part of the USC Center for Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer. Another ongoing study looks at the acute impact of simple carbohydrate versus complex carbohydrate meals on behavior, insulin dynamics, select gut peptides, and psychosocial measures in our unique observation laboratory. We are currently developing a mobile body area network to measure physical activity, stress, location, diet, heart rate and other indices in a bluetooth enabled system together with colleagues from Viterbi School of Engineering. We are also interested in how stress effects the lives of adolescents. Intervention modalities that we are exploring with colleagues in Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics include Guided Imagery and motivational interviewing in combination with home-based and group based nutrition and physical activity interventions. Our work is funded by NIDDK, NCCAM, NCMHD and NCI.

 

 



10 Selected Publications:
Click here to view all the publications for this faculty

Nguyen-Rodriguez ST,Unger JB,Spruijt-Metz D - Psychological determinants of emotional eating in adolescence. - Eat Disord [2009] May-Jun;17(3):211-24 PubMed

Weigensberg MJ,Lane CJ,Winners O,Wright T,Nguyen-Rodriguez S,Goran MI,Spruijt-Metz D - Acute Effects of Stress-Reduction Interactive Guided Imagery(SM) on Salivary Cortisol in Overweight Latino Adolescents. - J Altern Complement Med [2009] Feb 28;(): PubMed

Davis JN,Kelly LA,Lane CJ,Ventura EE,Byrd-Williams CE,Alexandar KA,Azen SP,Chou CP,Spruijt-Metz D,Weigensberg MJ,Berhane K,Goran MI - Randomized Control Trial to Improve Adiposity and Insulin Resistance in Overweight Latino Adolescents. - Obesity (Silver Spring) [2009] Feb 26;(): PubMed

Spruijt-Metz D,Nguyen-Michel ST,Goran MI,Chou CP,Huang TT - Reducing sedentary behavior in minority girls via a theory-based, tailored classroom media intervention. - Int J Pediatr Obes [2008] ;3(4):240-8 PubMed

Giannotta F,Ciairano S,Spruijt R,Spruijt-Metz D - Meanings of sexual intercourse for Italian adolescents. - J Adolesc [2008] Aug 7;(): PubMed

Goran MI,Davis J,Kelly L,Shaibi G,Spruijt-Metz D,Soni SM,Weigensberg M - Low prevalence of pediatric type 2 diabetes: where's the epidemic? - J Pediatr [2008] Jun;152(6):753-5 PubMed

Hsia FN,Spruijt-Metz D - Gender differences in smoking and meanings of smoking in Asian-American college students. - J Health Psychol [2008] May;13(4):459-63 PubMed

Davis JN,Ventura EE,Shaibi GQ,Weigensberg MJ,Spruijt-Metz D,Watanabe RM,Goran MI - Reduction in added sugar intake and improvement in insulin secretion in overweight latina adolescents. - Metab Syndr Relat Disord [2007] Jun;5(2):183-93 PubMed

Nguyen-Rodriguez ST,Chou CP,Unger JB,Spruijt-Metz D - BMI as a moderator of perceived stress and emotional eating in adolescents. - Eat Behav [2008] Apr;9(2):238-46 PubMed

Byrd-Williams C,Kelly LA,Davis JN,Spruijt-Metz D,Goran MI - Influence of gender, BMI and Hispanic ethnicity on physical activity in children. - Int J Pediatr Obes [2007] ;2(3):159-66 PubMed


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