Education

  • PhD, Developmental Psychology, Georgetown University, 2010
  • Master of Science in Clinical Research, Tulane University, 2017
  • Master of Public Policy, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, 2009
  • Bachelor of Science, Psychology, Louisiana State University, 2007

Research Interests

Please visit Dr. Staiano's lab website: http://labs.pbrc.edu/pediatric-obesity

Dr. Staiano is a developmental psychologist with an interest in family-based healthy lifestyle interventions utilizing innovative technology to decrease pediatric obesity and its comorbidities. Her research has involved over 1500 children and adolescents, including randomized controlled trials and prospective cohorts, to examine the influence of physical activity and sedentary behavior on body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Due to Dr. Staiano's specific interest in using technology to promote physical activity and healthy behaviors, she was recently PI of the GameSquad study, a randomized controlled trial that tested the efficacy of a 6-month physical activity program for children’s weight management delivered via exergaming, wireless activity monitoring, and telehealth counseling, funded by the American Heart Association (AHA 15GRNT24480070). Her other current trials utilize technology for behavior change, including developing and testing a mobile app for parents of preschoolers to increase children’s physical activity and improve self-regulation skills (NIH R21HD095035) and the use of telehealth counseling in a primary care-based pragmatic trial of children with obesity (PCORI PCS-2017C2-7542).

Her previous studies include two large epidemiological studies of children’s physical activity: an NIMHD-funded study of 175 preschool-aged children in daycare centers (U54MD008602-P02UAB) and a USDA-funded study of 342 adolescents 10 to 16 years of age, including 41% ethnic minority and 50% with overweight or obesity (USDA 3092-51000-056-04A). Dr. Staiano's research studies employ a variety of innovative behavioral tools including exergaming, mobile apps, and telehealth counseling, coupled with study designs that utilize dietary recall, remote data collection and intervention delivery, physical activity assessment via accelerometry and heart rate monitors, observational behavioral analysis of activity, the development and implementation of age-specific exercise protocols, and other behavioral and psychological assessments.

Selected Publications

  1. Staiano AE, *Button AM, Baker A, Beyl R, Conn AM, Lima A, Lindros J, Newton RL, Stein RI, Welch RR, Cook S, Wilfley DE, TEAM UP Research Group. A pragmatic trial of a family-centered approach to childhood obesity treatment: Rationale and study design. Contemporary Clinical Trials. 2024; 138: 107459. PMID: 38278478. PMCID: PMC10922779. DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107459.
  2. Hampl SE, Hassink SG, Skinner AC, Armstrong SC, Barlow SE, Bolling CF, Edwards KCA, Eneli I, Hamre R, Joseph MM, Lunsford D, Mendonca E, Michalsky MP, Mirza N, Ochoa ER, Sharifi M, Staiano AE, Weedn AE, Flinn SK, Lindros J, Okechukwu K. Clinical practice guideline for the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with obesity. Pediatrics. 2023; e2022060640. PMID: 36622115. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2022-060640.
  3. Staiano AE & Katzmarzyk PT. Visceral, subcutaneous, and total fat mass accumulation in a prospective cohort of adolescents. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2022;116(3):780-785. PMID: 35544287. PMCID: PMC9437989. DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqac129.
  4. *Hu K, Staiano AE. Trends in obesity prevalence among children and adolescents aged 2-19 years in the United States, 2011-2020. JAMA Pediatrics. 2022;176:1037-1039. PMID: 35877133. PMCID: PMC9315946. DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.2052.
  5. Staiano AE, Newton RL Jr, Beyl RA, *Kracht CL, Hendrick CA, Viverito M, Webster EK. mHealth Intervention for motor skills: A randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics. 2022;149(5): e2021053362. PMID: 35415743. PMCID: PMC9648112. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2021-053362.
  6. Staiano AE, Shanley JR, Kihm H, Hawkins KR, Self-Brown S, Hӧchsmann C, Osborne MC, LeBlanc MM, Apolzan JW, Martin CK. Digital tools to support family-based weight management for children: Mixed methods pilot and feasibility study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting. 2021;4(1). e24714. PMID: 33410760. PMCID: PMC7819774. DOI: 10.2196/24714.
  7. Staiano AE, Beyl RA, Guan W, Hendrick CA, Hsia DS, Newton RL. Home-based exergaming among children with overweight and obesity: A randomized clinical trial. Pediatric Obesity 2018;13(11):724-733. PMID: 30027607. PMCID: PMC6203598. DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.12438.
  8. Staiano AE, *Marker AM, Beyl RA, Hsia DS, Katzmarzyk PT, & Newton RL. A randomized controlled trial of dance exergaming for exercise training in overweight and obese adolescent girls. Pediatric Obesity 2017;12(2):120-128. PMID: 26918815. PMCID: PMC5191971. DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.12117.
  9. Staiano AE, Harrington DM, Broyles ST, Gupta AK, & Katzmarzyk PT. Television, adiposity, and cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2013;44(1):40-47. PMID: 23253648. PMCID: PMC3527837. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.049.
  10. Staiano AE, Abraham AA, & Calvert SL. Adolescent exergame play for weight loss and psychosocial improvement: A controlled physical activity intervention. Obesity 2013;21(3):598-601. PMID: 23592669. PMCID: PMC3473097. DOI: 10.1002/oby.20282.

*indicates mentee

PubMed Bibliography