Jeanette Gustat, PhD, MPH

Dr. Gustat's research interests include environmental determinants of health, including aspects of our surrounding environment that contribute to inactivity and obesity. She is currently working on projects investigating how parks, playgrounds and neighborhood environments influence physical activity through her position as lead investigator of the Tulane Prevention Research Center and her work with Dr. Ariane Rung at the LSU School of Public Health. This work is funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is also interested in physical activity, obesity, psychosocial factors and cognitive function and how these factors play a role in cancer and cardiovascular disease outcomes. She is currently funded by the National Institute of Aging (R03) to investigate the relationship between cognitive function and cardiovascular risk in the Bogalusa Heart Study population. Additionally, as an instructor of several courses in the Department of Epidemiology, she is also interested in epidemiologic methods, survey research methods and ethics of epidemiology.