Bio
Dr. Parker's personal and professional experiences have led to an increased interest in non-pharmacologic interventions to improve health and chronic disease related outcomes particularly in populations such as under-resourced communities. Dr. Parker's AHA career development award evaluated current teacher workplace health behaviors, such as diet, physical activity and work-related stress, and how changes to the school environment may positively impact these behaviors. More recently, Dr. Parker's research has focused on older adults with impaired mobility, exploring how disability negatively impacts dietary quality, and identifying barriers to consuming a healthy diet among this population. Elizabeth is also the PI of the NIH SEPA funded Cure Connections program, a stem enrichment program for 9th and 10th grade UMB CURE Scholars, and the RAMP program, a summer research training and mentoring program for upper-level high school students.