Dr. Julie Croff, associate professor in the School of Community Health Sciences, Counseling and Counseling Psychology (HCCP) in the Oklahoma State University College of Education, Health and Aviation, has been selected as a recipient of the 2018 President’s Fellows Faculty Research Award for her research on measuring health behaviors among adolescent girls.

This prestigious award recognizes and supports exceptional faculty research by providing funding that allows them to continue their work. Croff will be recognized at a reception during OSU Research Week on Feb. 22 in Stillwater.

Croff will use the $20,000 award to collect and analyze detailed sleep measurements of study participants by using a wearable device to help identify the interplay of three behaviors: alcohol use, diet and sleep. If successful, this study will identify how alcohol use and sleep patterns exert influence on essential levels of folate in adolescent girls, which factors allow some girls to accumulate higher levels than others.

“The reciprocal influence of behaviors on other behaviors is of key importance when designing health behavior interventions,” Croff said. “The current study addresses the connections between alcohol use, folate and stress. However, the addition of detailed sleep data from a wearable device will address additional important factors related to the health of adolescents and emerging adult females.”

Croff joined the OSU faculty in 2010. She has a master’s in public health from Boston University’s School of Public Health and a doctorate from San Diego State and the University of California-San Diego’s joint doctorate program. Croff serves as the founding director of the OSU Master of Public Health degree program.  Her areas of expertise include alcohol and other drug use, health behavior, person-environment interaction and underserved populations.

“We are delighted that Dr. Croff received the President’s Fellows Faculty Research Award to support her scholarship,” said Julie Koch, head of HCCP. “Dr. Croff is engaging in ground-breaking research that is recognized nationally, and her work contributes to the strength of our Master of Public Health and Health Education and Promotion programs.”