Stanford University
Showing 51-88 of 88 Results
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Luka Ojemaye
Postdoctoral Scholar, SCRDP/ Heart Disease Prevention
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCurrent research centers on advancing athlete health and performance through an interdisciplinary lens that integrates clinical rehabilitation, biomechanics, and health equity. His work explores injury prevention, return-to-play strategies, and the psychosocial dimensions of care—particularly among underrepresented athletic populations.
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Marily Oppezzo
Instructor, Medicine - Stanford Prevention Research Center
BioDr. Oppezzo is an Instructor of Medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and head of the nutrition pillar at Stanford Lifestyle Medicine. She is a behavioral and learning scientist, dietitian, and exercise science interventionist. She earned her PhD in Educational Psychology from Stanford University, and holds a Master’s degree in Nutritional Science, and is board certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional.
Dr. Oppezzo's work combines her extensive training in nutrition, exercise science, and behavioral science to develop innovative interventions that empower individuals to adopt sustainable, healthy habits - integrating them into their already busy lives. With a focus on "minimal dose, maximal gains" she explores the best ways for people to adopt small, actionable changes for significant improvements in health and well-being. She is particularly interested in the impact of "exercise snacks"—short, accessible bouts of physical activity—on productivity, mood, and overall health. One of her key interventions, "Stronger," is designed to provide peri- and post-menopausal women with effective strength training that maximizes benefits while minimizing time commitment. -
Sarah Ann Paglini
Graduate Student Researcher, Medicine - Med/Stanford Prevention Research Center
BioSarah is a 3rd-year Doctoral Student at PAU, completing an emphasis in Neuropsychology. Her current clinical practicum rotation is at the VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA, where she conducts neuropsychological evaluation of diagnostic and treatment planning for patients presenting with complex neurobehavioral and psychiatric disorders. Additionally, she is a neuropsychological assessor at the University of California, San Francisco. She is currently a graduate student researcher in the Department of Medicine with the Stanford Prevention Research Center at Stanford University.
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Michele Lanpher Patel
Instructor, Medicine - Stanford Prevention Research Center
BioMichele L. Patel, PhD is an Instructor in the Stanford Prevention Research Center at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Trained as a clinical health psychologist, Dr. Patel conducts research to optimize scalable digital health interventions for adults with obesity. She leads clinical trials that test innovative strategies to address the critical challenge of suboptimal engagement in digital interventions.
Dr. Patel's research is supported by an NIH career development award (K23; 2022-2027). Her recent Spark trial investigated the most potent combination of self-monitoring strategies in a behavioral weight loss intervention among 176 adults with overweight or obesity. Results are expected to be published in 2026.
She is also testing other strategies to promote engagement, weight loss, and health. This includes the impact of easier vs. harder goals, and the effect of high-frequency, low-friction behavioral strategies. Her work leverages the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) to systematically identify intervention strategies that maximize effectiveness while minimizing patient burden.
Dr. Patel received her PhD in clinical psychology from Duke University. She completed her clinical internship at the VA Palo Alto with a specialization in behavioral medicine, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship (T32) at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. She currently serves as the Chair of the Optimization of Behavioral and Biobehavioral Interventions special interest group in the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Primary Research Interests:
-- Optimizing digital interventions for obesity treatment and prevention
-- Leveraging behavioral science to create lower-burden self-monitoring strategies to improve engagement and outcomes
-- Identifying psychosocial factors (including health literacy and self-efficacy) that influence treatment success
Methodological Expertise:
-- Randomized clinical trials, including factorial designs and embedded trials
-- Systematic reviews
-- Signal detection analysis -
Dalia Perelman
Dietitian 2, Medicine - Med/Stanford Prevention Research Center
Current Role at StanfordResearch Dietitian:
•Implements the nutritional component of research protocols, counsels participants, collects and enters food records, develops nutrition education materials, and develops specialized diets for metabolic studies.
•Develops protocols and informed consent forms for IRB submission.
•Collects, compiles, documents, and analyzes clinical research data.
•Recruits and consents subjects.
Health Educator:
•Develops and presents curriculum to educate subjects on study diets.
•Implements new techniques to increase adherence to study diets.
•Acts as a liaison between investigators, collaborators, and study participants. -
Judith Prochaska
Senior Associate Vice Provost, Clinical Research Governance and Professor of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Prochaska's clinical trials research focuses on developing and testing evidence-based interventions for tobacco, other substance use, physical activity, and diet. She has led randomized controlled trials of treatments that combine motivational, behavioral, and pharmacologic strategies, including use of telemedicine, therapeutic relational agents, social-media–supported interventions, and tailored programs for socio-demographically diverse and at-risk groups to advance population health.
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Brian Ring
Affiliate, Medicine - Med/Stanford Prevention Research Center
BioDr. Brian Ring received his PhD in molecular biology and genetics from Cornell University and completed his post-doctoral training at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Ring is an experienced bioinformatics leader with many years in oncology-focused research and diagnostics, including the development of several clinically utilized gene expression-based companion diagnostics. He has also been the CSO and founder of multiple companies operating in the health field.
Currently, Dr. Ring is an affiliate in the school of Medicine - Med/Stanford Prevention Research Center. -
Jennifer Robinson
Associate Director, Medicine - Med/Stanford Prevention Research Center
Current Role at StanfordAssociate Director, Nutrition Studies Group
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Thomas Robinson
The Irving Schulman, M.D. Professor of Child Health, Professor of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center) and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Robinson originated the solution-oriented research paradigm and directs the Stanford Solutions Science Lab. He is known for his pioneering obesity prevention and treatment research, including the concept of stealth interventions. His research applies social cognitive models of behavior change to behavioral, social, environmental and policy interventions for children and families in real world settings, making the results relevant for informing clinical and public health practice and policy.
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Corey Rovzar
Instructor, Medicine - Stanford Prevention Research Center
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEnhancing human movement through scalable, remotely delivered physical activity interventions, remote assessment and monitoring of human movement, health technology development, fall prevention, aging, digital balance assessment, improving access to health and healthcare, increasing healthspan, lifestyle medicine
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Michael Royer
Postdoctoral Scholar, SCRDP/ Heart Disease Prevention
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Royer's research interests include food insecurity, eating behaviors, and physical activity. His research primarily aims to remove barriers hindering individuals from accessing healthy food. Dr. Royer seeks to advance public health by sustainably promoting healthy eating and food security through innovative and evidence-based research approaches. Through his research, he is motivated to promote food security, healthy eating, and physical activity toward the prevention of chronic disease.
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Alejandro Sandoval Lentisco
Postdoctoral Scholar, SCRDP/ Heart Disease Prevention
BioAlejandro completed his PhD in Psychology at the University of Murcia, Spain, in 2024. His doctoral research focused on assessing transparency and risk of bias in psychology meta-analyses. Prior to this, he obtained an MSc in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Granada, Spain. In addition to evaluating methodological practices in evidence synthesis and empirical studies, he is interested in a wide range of meta-scientific questions, such as how science self-corrects and how research should be evaluated.
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Randall Stafford
Professor of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAs Director of the SPRC Program on Prevention Outcomes and Practices, my work focuses on cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention, the adoption of new technology and practices, and patterns of physician practice, particularly medication prescribing. Specific interests include measuring and improving the quality of outpatient care, disparities in health care by race, gender, age and socioeconomic status, and interventions to improve prevention outcomes.
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Marcia L. Stefanick, Ph.D.
Professor (Research) of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center), of Obstetrics and Gynecology and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMarcia L. Stefanick, Ph.D is a Professor of Medicine Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and by courtesy, Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Stefanick’s research focuses on chronic disease prevention (particularly, heart disease, breast cancer, osteoporosis, and dementia) in both women and men. She is currently the Principal Investigator the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Extension Study, having been the PI of the Stanford Clinical Center of the landmark WHI Clinical Trials and Observational Study since 1994 and Chair of the WHI Steering and Executive Committees from 1998-2011, as well as PI of the WHI Strong and Healthy (WHISH) Trial which is testing the hypothesis that a DHHS-based physical activity intervention, being delivered to a multi-ethnic cohort of about 24,000 WHI participants across the U.S., aged 68-99 when the trial started in 2015, will reduce major cardiovascular events over 8 years, compared to an equal number of “usual activity” controls. Dr. Stefanick is also PI of the Osteoporotic Study of Men (MrOS) which is continuing to conduct clinical assessments of bone and body composition in survivors of an original cohort of nearly 6000 men aged 65 and over in 2001. As founding Director of the Stanford Women’s Health and Sex Differences in Medicine (WHSDM, “wisdom”) Center, she plays a major role in promoting research and teaching on Sex and Gender in Human Physiology and Disease, Women’s Health and Queer Health and Medicine. Dr. Stefanick also plays major leadership roles at the Stanford School of Medicine, including as co-leader of the Population Sciences Program of the Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford’s NCI-funded comprehensive cancer center.
Dr. Stefanick obtained her B.A. in biology from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (1974), then pursued her interest in hormone and sex difference research at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, after which she obtained her PhD in Physiology at Stanford University, focusing on reproductive physiology and neuroendocrinology, with exercise physiology as a secondary focus. Her commitment to human research led to a post-doctoral fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, which has been her academic home for nearly 40 years. -
Stefan Thottunkal
Masters Student in Community Health and Prevention Research, admitted Winter 2025
Other Tech - Graduate, Med/Quantitative Sciences Unit
Graduate Student Employee, Medicine - Primary Care and Population HealthBioMasters Student in Community Health and Prevention Research, admitted Winter 2025
Stefan Thottunkal is an Australian medical student, early career researcher and civil servant. His research interests include chronic disease, Native health, and pharmacogenomics. He is particularly interested in pioneering deployment of innovative technologies in clinical settings, utilizing approaches grounded in implementation science. Stefan received an IIE QUAD Fellowship in 2024 to study a Masters of Community Health and Prevention Research at Stanford.
His current work focuses on precision medicine, advancing implementation of pharmacogenomic testing into clinical practice through leveraging machine learning and large language models to enhance clinical decision-making. He is actively seeking collaboration with those specialised in knowledge-grounded natural language processing and retrieval augmented generation.
Stefan has worked on high impact initiatives conducted in collaboration with the WHO Global Outbreak and Response Network, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization. He is passionate about bridging the gap between research, policy, and practice to drive meaningful change. -
Ashira Weinreich
Masters Student in Community Health and Prevention Research, admitted Autumn 2025
BioAshira is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (NSF-GRFP), completing her MS in Community Health and Prevention Research at Stanford University (2025 - June 2026), and a Community Engaged Scholar at Stanford's Haas Center for Public Service. Her research examines how diverse bio-cultural systems inform community health in times of sociocultural and ecological change. By linking cyclical patterns in health practices with seasonality, nutrient intake, and medicinal plant use, Ashira explores how village communities adapt to climatic and environmental variability. As a Fulbright Research Fellow in Nepal (2024-2025), Ashira interviewed community members, organized and facilitated workshops in 12 villages ranging in elevation from 6,500ft to 13,000ft, engaging over 200 villagers. She believes that anticipatory capacity is important in developing resilience in Nepal’s high-altitude Himalayan regions. Ashira is committed to a collaborative, community-centered approach to research, emphasizing the importance of reciprocity and giving back to the community.
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Marilyn Winkleby, PhD, MPH
Professor (Research) of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center), Emerita
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCardiovascular disease epidemiology, health of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, social determinants of health, community-based intervention research, youth advocacy and mentorship, promoting diversity in health professions
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Sandra Winter
Adjunct Lecturer, Medicine - Med/Stanford Prevention Research Center
BioSandra J. Winter, PhD, MHA, is currently the Executive Director of Senior Coastsiders in Half Moon Bay, CA. Senior Coastsiders is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that has provided opportunities, support, and resources for older adults on the San Mateo Coast since 1977. Senior Coastsiders prepares meals that are served in the dining room or home delivered; provides information assistance and caregiver support; carries out minor repairs to improve home safety; facilitates transport to and from the center; and coordinates a variety of classes and activities. Sandi is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and a member of the Community Health and Prevention Research (CHPR) Master of Science Advisory Board.
Sandi was born and raised in Zimbabwe, then moved to Cape Town in South Africa where she was a successful entrepreneur, owning and operating a number of businesses in the advertising industry. In 2003 Sandra moved with her family from Cape Town, South Africa to Lexington, Kentucky where she completed a Master of Health Administration in May, 2006 and a PhD in Public Administration (Health Policy Track) in December, 2009 at the University of Kentucky. Her graduate research work focused on the health care that is provided to prison inmates in Kentucky.
In 2009 Sandra moved from Kentucky to California where she started working at the Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC). At SPRC Sandra held a number of positions including Fitness assessor, biometric screener and wellness advisor with the BeWell program; Social Science Research Assistant with Abby King’s Healthy Aging Research and Technology Solutions (HARTS) lab; Project Manager for the SPRC/Qassim University College of Medicine, Saudi Arabia collaboration, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and Director of the WELL for Life initiative.
Sandra's research areas of interest include wellbeing, community-based interventions among under resourced populations; reducing health disparities (particularly in a global context); the role the environments in which we live, work and play affect our ability to lead healthy active lives; and how we can use technology to encourage and support health behavior improvements.
