Education

  • Ph.D., Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 2002, Clinical Psychology
  • M.A., Clinical Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 1999, Clinical Psychology
  • B.S., Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1996, Psychology

Laboratory Website: http://labs.pbrc.edu/btl/

Research Interests

Dr. Tiffany Stewart is the Dudley & Beverly Coates Endowed Professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA and a licensed Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Stewart is the Director of the Behavior Technology Laboratory: Health, Performance, & Resilience, at Pennington Biomedical. The Behavior Technology Laboratory is dedicated to Translational Research - taking health behavior change programs from bench (science) to bedside (tools everyone can use).

With the dawn of new technologies and population health research models to reach populations who don’t have access to or who are unable to participate in clinical programs, Dr. Stewart has been a pioneer in the development and testing of e-health technologies and community participatory programs in order to bring prevention and treatment efforts to large populations in need. Dr. Stewart leads a multi-disciplinary team that has spearheaded unique, large, multi-site programs and studies that have included the development and deployment of novel technologies for behavior change in high performance populations, namely, NCAA female athletes and U.S. Army Soldiers. This work includes a NIH funded R01 investigating a program targeting the prevention of eating disorders, mental health struggles, and the Female Athlete Triad (low energy availability, osteoporosis, cessation of menses) in female collegiate athletes across four university sites. This work most recently includes two new studies on physical and mental resilience in female athletes, funded by the Wu Tsai Alliance for Human Performance, and the development of the S.C.O.R.E. program for athlete mental health and transition, with pilot funding from the Pennington Family Foundation.

Dr. Stewart has a 20-year ongoing collaboration with the Department of Defense and this work includes trials with Active Duty, Reserves, National Guard, and Veterans. This work includes two pilot studies and two RCTs examining the efficacy of a program in U.S. Army Soldiers that incorporates behavioral training for sleep, nutrition, fitness, and mental health. Her work on mobile interventions also includes two NIH-funded studies addressing the prevention of weight gain in children and adolescents. She was also a Co-Investigator (Co-I) for the NIH-sponsored multi-site CALERIE study, investigating the relationship between calorie restriction, eating disorders, and body image, and a Co-I for the Expecting Success Study, investigating personalized management of body weight during pregnancy and additional psychological factors, e.g. body image, depression, and disordered eating.

Dr. Stewart’s multidisciplinary laboratory consists of psychologists, behavioral research associates, registered dietitians, exercise physiologists, computer programmers, developers, statisticians, project managers, and Soldiers in the U.S. Army. Dr. Stewart and her team have combined expertise in the areas of novel behavioral assessment, treatments, and intervention technology development and delivery, and extensive experience in the design, implementation/ management, and dissemination of large, multi- site trials. Over the last 20 years, Dr. Stewart has collaborated on landmark obesity studies including DPP, Pounds Lost, and Look AHEAD. Dr. Stewart has recently established Pennington’s first model treatment clinic, targeting diabetes and pre-diabetes in the Medicaid population in Louisiana, deploying the highest level obesity science in a pragmatic community treatment model. To date, Dr. Stewart has successfully acquired over $20 million to execute large translational projects.

Dr. Stewart has recently been recognized for awards including the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus Women of Excellence Award for Health & Medicine, the Patriotic Employer Award, Influential Woman in Business, and LSU's Esprit de Femme award for her work with women and girls. Dr. Stewart engages in national and local service including invited speaking engagements, academic journal editorial boards, the National Bureau for Recovery Services for eating disorders and athletes, and the US Army Surgeon General’s task force for the Performance Triad (2014-2018), among many other advisory boards, including medical and business development.

Some of Dr. Stewart’s work is highlighted in her TEDx talk entitled, “The Body Revolution We Need: Function Over Form,” underscoring her work bridging the gap of cultural appearance pressures and health for the long-haul.

Selected Publications

  1. Stewart, T.M., Williamson, D.A., Smeets, M.A.M. & Greenway, F.L. (2000). A Computerized Assessment of Body Image: A Psychometric Study. Obesity Research, 9(1), 43-50. PMCID: PMC2743122
  2. Stewart, T.M., Williamson, D.A., & White, M. (2002). Rigid and Flexible Dieting: Association with BMI and Eating Disorder Symptoms. Appetite 38, 39-44.
  3. Stewart, T.M. & Williamson, D.A. (2004). Multidisciplinary Treatment of Eating Disorders I: Structure and Costs of Treatment. Behavior Modification, 28(6), 812-830.
  4. Stewart, T.M. & Williamson, D.A. (2004). Multidisciplinary Treatment of Eating Disorders II: Primary Goals and Content of Treatment, A Mindful Approach. Behavior Modification, 28(6), 831-853.
  5. Stewart, T.M. (2004). Light on Body Image Treatment: Acceptance through Mindfulness. Behavior Modification, 28(6), 783-811.
  6. Stewart, T. M.(2007). Genes and binge eating: Are we missing the target? Obesity Management, 2(6), 223-226.
  7. Williamson, D.A., Copeland, A.L., Anton, S.D., Champagne, C., Han, H., Lewis, L., Martin, C., Newton, R.L., Sothern, M., Stewart, T., & Ryan, D. (2007). Wise Mind Project: A School-Based Environmental Approach for Preventing Weight Gain in Children. Obesity, 15(4), 906-917.
  8. Stewart, T.M., May, S., Allen, H.R., Bathalon, G.P., LaVergne, G., Sigrist, L., Ryan, D.H., & Williamson, D.A. (2008). Development of an Internet/Population-based weight management program for the U.S. Army. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology 2(1), 116-126. PMCID: PMC2769719
  9. tewart, T. M., Allen, H. R., Han, H. & Williamson, D. A. The Development of the Body Morph Assessment Version 2.0 (BMA 2.0): Tests of Reliability and Validity. (2009). Body Image 6(2), 67-94. PMCID: PMC2743122
  10. Stewart, T.M., Bachand, A., Han, H., Ryan, D., Bray, G.A., & Williamson, D.A. (2010). Body image changes associated with participation in an intensive lifestyle weight loss intervention. Obesity. NIHMSID: NIHMS250514
  11. Stewart, T.M., Han, H., Ryan, D.H., Newton, R.L. Jr., & Williamson, D.A. (2011). H.E.A.L.T.H.: Efficacy of an Internet/Population-based Behavioral Weight Management Program for the U.S. Army. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology 5, 178-187. PMCID: PMC3045224
  12. Stewart, T.M., Bhapkar, M., Das, S., Galan, K., Martin, C.K., McAdams, L., Pieper, C., Redman, L., Roberts, S., Stein, R.I., Rochon, J., & Williamson, D.A., for the CALERIE Study Group (2013). Comprehensive assessment of Long-Term effects of reducing intake of energy Phase 2 (CALERIE Phase 2): Screening and Recruitment: Methods and Results. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 34 (1), 10-20. PMCID: PMC3525758
  13. Becker, C., Hill, K., Greif, R., Han, H., & Stewart, T.M. (2013). Reducing Self-Objectification: Are dissonance-based methods a possible approach? Journal of Eating Disorders, 1:10,1-10. DOI: 10.1186/2050-2974-1-10.
  14. Becker, C.B., Plasencia, M., Kilpela, L.S., Briggs, M., & Stewart, T.M. (2014). Changing the course of comorbid eating disorders and depression: What is the role of public health interventions in targeting shared risk factors? Journal of Eating Disorders, 2 (15), 1-14.
  15. Stewart, T.M., Plasencia, M., Han, H., Jackson, H., & Becker, C.B. (2014). Moderators and predictors of response to eating disorder risk factor reduction programs in collegiate female athletes. Eating Disorders in Sport, special issue in Psychology of Sport & Exercise (PSE).
  16. Teyhen, D.S., McClain, J., Stewart, T.M., Neal, D.N., Thorndike, F., Aldag, M., Edinborough, E., Levine, B., Ghanadian, J., Kinn, J., Parramore, D., Trabosh, V., Haught, A., & Kunkler, K. (2014). Leveraging technology: Creating & sustaining changes for health, Telemedicine and e-Health, in press.
  17. Kilpela, L., Becker, C.B., Wesley, N., & Stewart, T.M. (2014). Body Image in Adult Women: Moving Beyond the Younger Years. Advances in Eating Disorders, in press.
  18. Eric Ravussin, Leanne M. Redman, James Rochon, Sai Krupa Das, Luigi Fontana, William E. Kraus, Sergei Romashkan, Donald A. Williamson, Simin N. Meydani, Dennis T. Villareal, Steven R. Smith, Richard I. Stein, Tammy M. Scott4, Tiffany M. Stewart, Edward Saltzman, Samuel Klein, Manju Bhapkar, Corby K. Martin1, John O. Holloszy, Cheryl H. Gilhooly, Evan C. Hadley, Susan B. Roberts for the CALERIE Study Group. (2015). A two-year randomized controlled trial of human caloric restriction: feasibility and effects on predictors of health span and longevity. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 10, 1-8.
  19. Martin, C. K., Bhapkar, B., Pittas, A. G., Pieper, C. F., Das, S. K., Williamson, D. A., Scott, T., Redman, L. M., Stein, R., Gilhooly, C. H., Stewart, T., Robinson, L., Roberts, S. B. for the CALERIE Phase 2 Study Group. (2016). Effect of calorie restriction on mood, quality of life, sleep, and sexual function in healthy nonobese adults: The CALERIE 2 randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med, 176(6), 743-752. PMID: 27136347.
  20. Stewart, T.M., Beyl, R., Pollard, T., Wesley, N., Kilpela, L.S., Becker, C.B. The Female Athlete Body (FAB) Study: Rationale, Design, and Baseline Characteristics. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research. Under Review.
  21. Stewart, T.M., Pollard, T., Hildebrandt, T., Beyl, R., Wesley, N., Kilpela, L.S., Becker, C.B. (2017). The Female Athlete Body (FAB) study: Rationale, design, and baseline characteristics. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 60, 63-71.
  22. Becker, C.B., Verzijl, C.L., Kilpela, L.S., Wilfred, S.A., Stewart, T.M. (2017). Body Image in Adult Women: Associations with Health Behaviors, quality of life, and functional impairment. Journal of Health Psychology, http://doi.org/10.1177/ 1359105317710815.
  23. Redman, L.M., Gilmore, A., Breaux, J., Thomas, D.T., Elkind-Hirsch, K., Stewart, T., Hsia, D., Burton, J., Apolzan, J., Cain, L., Altazan, A.D., Ragusa, S., Brady, H., Davis, A., Tilford, M., Sutton, E., & Martin, C. (2017). Effectiveness of SmartMoms, a Novel eHealth Intervention for Management of Gestational Weight Gain: Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, doi: 10.2196/mhealth.8228.
  24. Stewart, T.M. (2018). Why Thinking We Are Fat Won’t Help Us Improve Our Health: Finding the Middle Ground. A Commentary in Obesity, 26(7): 1115-1116, doi.org/10.1002/oby.22241.
  25. Chapa, D.A.N., Hagan, K.T., Perko, V.L., Sorokina, D.A., Alasmar, A., Becker, C.B., Thompson, R.A., Sherman, R.T., Farrell, J.G., Stewart, T.M. (2018). Development of the Athletes Relationships with Training Scale. International Journal of Eating Disorders. DOI: 10.1002/eat.22960
  26. Stewart, T.M., Pollard, T., Hildebrandt, T., Wesley, N., Kilpela, L. S., Becker, C.B. (2018). The Female Athlete Body Project project study: 18-month outcomes in eating disorder symptoms and risk factors. International Journal of Eating Disorders, DOI: 10.1002/eat.23145.
  27. Dorling, J., Bhapkar, M., Das, S., Racette, S.B., Apolzan, J.W., Fearnbach, S.N., Redman, L.M., Myers, C., Stewart, T.M., Martin, C.K., for the CALERIE Study Group. (2019). Change in food cravings, self-efficacy, and eating behaviors during a two-year calorie restriction intervention in non-obese humans. Appetite, DOI: 10.1016/j.
  28. Stewart, T.M., Martin, C.K., & Williamson, D.A. (2022). The Complicated Relationship between Dieting, Dietary Restraint, Caloric Restriction, and Eating Disorders: Is a Shift in Public Health Messaging Warranted? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1), 491.