Student Summer Internship Program 
The Momentum Center Student Summer Internship program has provided summer stipend support for students to pursue research interests related to childhood obesity.
Each student intern works with a faculty mentor to identify specific project goals and objectives.
Learn more about previously awarded projects below.
Adolescent Stress: A Predictor of Disordered Eating Behavior
Tiwaloluwa Ajibewa, MS
PhD Student, Movement Science
Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Hasson
Mealtime Matters
Lauren Herty
MPH Candidate, Nutritional Sciences
Mentor: Dr. Kate Bauer
Weight Status Moderates Stress-Eating Associations in Children
Hurley Riley III
MPH Candidate, Health Behavior & Health Education
Mentor: Dr. Alison Miller
Developmental Programming of Early Life Adiposity by Postnatal High Fat Diet and the Potential for Maternal Metformin Exposure to Improve Offspring Metabolic Outcomes
Zachary Carlson
Undergraduate, Biochemistry
Mentor: Dr. Brigid Gregg
Associations Between Maternal Carbohydrate Intake During Pregnancy and Child Adiposity and Metabolic Risk in Adolescence
Molly Carter
MS Candidate, Nutritional Sciences
Mentors: Dr. Wei Perng and Dr. Dave Bridges
The Use of Neuroimaging in Understanding Childhood Obesity (Project Media and ABC Brains)
Ruby Siada
Undergraduate, Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience
Mentor: Dr. Ashley Gearhardt
Parental Restrictive Feeding Behaviors and Adolescent Food-Related Self-Regulation
Caroline Bartholomew
Undergraduate, Psychology
Mentors: Dr. Ashley Gearhardt and Dr. Megan Pesch
Exploring Adolescents’ Use of Social Media and Technology-Based Self-Monitoring for Weight Management
Samantha Hahn
PhD Candidate, Nutritional Sciences
Mentor: Dr. Katherine Bauer
Motor Skill Competence: A Potential Confounder of Self-Regulation and Obesity Risk in Young Children
Cecilia Bala
Undergraduate, LSA
Mentor: Dr. Leah Robinson
Correlations Between Cheek Cell Fatty Acids and Dietary Fatty Acid Intake Among School-Aged children
Dongqing Wang
MPH Candidate, Epidemiology
Mentor: Dr. Ana Baylin
Disordered Eating, Weight Bias, and Message Credibility in Young Adults Who Watch “The Biggest Loser”
Kelley Borton
MPH Candidate, Nutritional Sciences
Mentor: Dr. Kendrin Sonneville
Cultural Influences on Healthy Behaviors in African American Youth
John Spooney
MS Candidate, Kinesiology
Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Hasson
Epigenetic Evaluation of Prenatal High Fat Diet Exposure in Childhood Obesity
Carly McCabe
MS Candidate, Nutritional Sciences
Mentor: Dr. Dana Dolinoy
Creation of Interactive Data Visualizations to Illustrate the Burden and Epidemiology of Childhood Obesity
Jianqi Chen
MS Candidate, School of Information
Mentor: Dr. Joyce Lee
Epigenetics Assay Optimization for Studies Investigating Childhood Obesity
Joseph Kochmanski
PhD Candidate, Environmental Health Sciences
Dr. Dana Dolinoy