Khalsa Lab
The Khalsa Lab, led by Amrik Singh Khalsa, MD, MSc, focuses on reducing disparities and improving outcomes in obesity and its related co-morbidities through family-based, prevention interventions. Research activities to date have broadly focused on the role parents have on shaping their child’s diet and lifestyle behaviors in early childhood and its effect on the child’s future risk of obesity and its related co-morbidities including cardiovascular disease. Dr. Khalsa and his lab works with populations highest at risk for obesity related co-morbidities including families from low-income households and those from minoritized racial groups.
Current Research Studies
- PRO-CVD – A NIH funded study to develop and test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a visual-based tool that will communicate cardiovascular disease risk and empower families toward behavior change.
- Buckeye ISA – A Kellogg Foundation funded project that seeks to measure anthropometrics, diet, and changes in families interactions in families who partake in urban community gardens.
- Summer Harvest Adventure – A collaborative project with faculty from The Ohio State University to examine the effects of a randomized controlled, family-based gardening intervention on lifestyle behaviors, changes in their microbiome, and physiologic outcomes.
Meet Our Team
Amrik Singh Khalsa, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor
Amrik.Khalsa@NationwideChildrens.org
Amrik Singh Khalsa, MD, MSc, is a clinician investigator and Assistant Professor at the Center for Child Health Equity and Outcomes Research and Primary Care Pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital. He is dual medically trained and board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and has research expertise in observational research design, community-engaged research, and intergenerational obesity prevention. His research focuses on reducing disparities and improving outcomes in parental and childhood obesity and its co-morbidities (like cardiovascular disease) through research in primary care prevention.
Lab Staff
Amanda Draeger
Clinical Research Coordinator II
Amanda.Draeger@NationwideChildrens.org
Amanda is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a BS in Public Health and is currently pursuing her MPH with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Kent State University. She has an interest in the impact of social determinants of health and health behavior on population health outcomes. Influenced by experiences in the nonprofit setting, her specific public health challenges of interest are food insecurity, childhood health and nutrition, and poverty.
Josephine Razayeski
Clinical Research Coordinator I
Josephine.Razayeski@NationwideChildrens.org
Ohio State University studying Health Sciences and Anatomy. She is interested in medicine and plans on applying to medical school and eventually wants to work in pediatrics.
Rosalind Dixon
Clinical Research Coordinator I
Rosalind.Dixon@NationwideChildrens.org
Rosalind earned a bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science from Grand Valley State University in 2001 and has continued to work in various healthcare support roles. Rosalind is passionate about public health and endeavors to use her skills and talents to assist those within diverse communities become more knowledgeable about their health risks and preventative measures they can implement that will lead to better health outcomes. Rosalind enjoys volunteering in her community weekly. It provides a way for her to relate to her neighbors and discuss major concerns, barriers and hopes for the future.
Nate Goldfarb
Clinical Research Coordinator I
Nate.Goldfarb@NationwideChildrens.org
Nate Goldfarb is a clinical research coordinator for the Khalsa lab working on the study, "Designing Visual-Based Tools to Communicate Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Parents of School-Aged Children from Disadvantages Backgrounds." Nate has previous experience supporting US-funded global health projects, specifically those focused on epidemic preparedness and response. Nate has a passion for working with diverse communities to improve health outcomes. Nate recently conducted qualitative research in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania focused on the population's perspectives towards COVID-19. Additionally, Nate is currently taking his final semester of pre-med coursework in order to apply to medical school. Beyond his academic and professional endeavors, Nate loves mountain biking, skiing, and watching the English Premier League Football.
Alec Lohiser
Clinical Research Coordinator
Alec.Lohiser@NationwideChildrens.org
State University. Alec has a combined 4 years of clinical and research experience as a well as a passion for serving diverse communities. This role is helping Alec get more proximate to healthcare disparities in different populations, and he plans to implement what he has learned in this lab and further down his career path, with his goal being to practice medicine.