Current Post-docs
Marc Adams, Ph.D.
Dr. Marc Adams is a behavioral scientist (B.A. Psychology, M.P.H. Health Promotion, Ph.D. Public Health/Behavioral Science) focusing on increasing physical activity and healthful eating and reducing secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) for primary prevention of CVD. His current interests include behavioral economic theories, ecological models, automated learning systems, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and objective measurement of behavior and environments. He is a recipient of the Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award for research into smoking and SHSe among in Mexican and Mexican American populations. During his doctoral training at the Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems at UCSD’s CalIT2, he designed a pedometer-based eHealth intervention to increase physical activity. He is currently a Co-Investigator of a study funded by the Health Games Research Initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio to support innovative research in the development and use of “exergames” to achieve desirable health outcomes. Dr. Adams has co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed papers and several book chapters. With Dr. James Sallis as a mentor, he plans to focus the T32 Fellowship on the intersection between health-behavior interventions and urban design features (e.g. walkable neighborhoods).
Marc enjoys traveling, cooking, hiking and sailing in his spare time.
Noe Crespo, Ph.D.
Dr. Crespo is a public health and behavioral science researcher. He received his bachelors and masters degree in exercise science from California State University Los Angeles, a masters of public health degree from the University of Southern California, and a PhD in Public Health from the University of California San Diego/San Diego State University. Dr. Crespo's research has focused on physical activity and nutrition interventions to prevent chronic disease among Latinos. He is currently a post-doctoral fellow at UC-San Diego and a co-Investigator at the Center for Behavioral and Community Health Studies (BACH) at SDSU. Under the guidance of Dr. Guadalupe Ayala (advisor at SDSU), Dr. Crespo is conducting research to examine environmental, socio-cultural and psychological factors that mediate children's physical activity, and is conducting behavioral interventions to prevent and treat childhood obesity.
Dr. Crespo enjoys weight lifting, playing basketball, playing music and traveling.
Nketi Forbang, M.D.
Dr. Forbang was born in Cameroon, and grew up In Kansas. He received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Truman State University, and his M.D. from t the University of Kansas Medical Center. . Dr. Forbang has completed two years of General Surgery residency at Howard University Hospital , and currently is an NHLBI T32 post-doctoral fellow at UC San Diego. He is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Public Health (M.P.H.), with a focus in Epidemiology, as part of his fellowship. Along with attending conferences, seminars, and monthly journal clubs, his current projects include investigating the progression of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) in Diabetic patients. This study specifically looks at Ankle-brachial Index as a measure of PAD disease progression in diabetics. He is also trying to determine anatomical variations in the location of the abdominal aortic bifurcation in the population, and if these variations follow any gender or ethnic patterns. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, sports, Latin dance, and surfing.
Past Post-Docs
Karen Moy, Ph.D.
Dr. Karen Moy is a physical activity and health researcher (B.S. Exercise and Health Sciences, M.S. Kinesiology, Ph.D. Public Health) specializing in physical activity measurement techniques, health disparities among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI), and cultural adaptations of research protocols. In 2001, Dr. Moy was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Auckland, New Zealand, to pursue her doctorate degree in the city with the largest Polynesian population in the world. Since returning to the U.S. in 2006, Dr. Moy has been proactive in physical activity and health research among U.S. NHPI, working to create culturally-specific assessment tools and establish baseline statistics for this understudied, high-risk population. During her T32 fellowship, Dr. Moy has contributed to three community-based participatory research as both Co-Investigator and Principal Investigator (see below). Study findings have been presented at scientific conferences and submitted/published as manuscripts to scientific journals (Journal of Community Health; Journal of Physical Activity and Health).
Dr. Moy has also served as a mentor to SDSU graduate students in health promotion, and submitted a R21 proposal to NIH.
Nicole Jensky, Ph.D.
Dr. Jensky, a California native, received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara with a minor in Health and Exercise Science. After graduating, she continued her education at University of Southern California and graduated with a Ph.D. in Biokinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Physiology. Her dissertation focused on analyzing skeletal muscle proteins that regulate muscle mass. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at UC San Diego. Her fellowship training includes: taking classes at San Diego State University to attain a Masters Degree in Public Health (M.P.H.) with a focus in Epidemiology, attending conferences and seminars, journal club, writing manuscripts and writing grant proposals.
Her current research focuses on prevention of cardiovascular disease. She is investigating the association between blood pressure measures and calcification in different vascular beds. Also, she is investigating the association between body composition and calcification of different vascular beds, and lastly analyzing associations between physical activity and body composition and/or inflammatory markers in a diverse population.
In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing tennis, going to the gym, and traveling.
Current Pre-docs:
Jessica Jimenez, M.A.
Jessica Jiménez is a second year student studying health disparities in the San Diego State University and University of California San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health (Health Behavior). Using a socio-ecological framework, Jessica studies the pathways between individual-level biological and behavioral CVD risk factors and the larger socio-cultural context in which they occur. A main focus of her work is to understand the mechanisms underlying the relationship between acculturation and CVD incidence within Latino populations. In particular, she applies qualitative and quantitative methods to understand cultural phenomena and biological outcomes. Prior to her acceptance to the T32 UCSD Integrated Cardiovascular Epidemiology training program, she was working a program evaluation consultant for JSI Research and Training, Inc. As a Fulbright Scholar in Oaxcaca, México, she studied the relationship between quality of life and migration among women living in sending communities. She holds a M.A. in International Development and Social Change, with an emphasis in migration studies, from Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Smriti Shivpuri, M.A.
Smriti Shivpuri received her B.S. in Psychology and French from The Ohio State University and her M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Michigan State University. She is currently in the Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at San Diego State University/University of California San Diego, under the mentorship of Dr. Linda Gallo and Dr. Matt Allison. She is concurrently pursuing her Master's in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology through the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University. Her research interests include psychosocial factors related to cardiovascular disease risk in minority populations, with a special focus on the effect of stress. She is currently part of "Nuestra Salud", a research study investigating risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the Latina population