Michael R. Thomsen, Ph.D.
Dr. Thomsen is the current director of the Center. He joined UAMS after nearly 23 years on the faculty with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Over his career, Dr. Thomsen’s research has focused on the intersection between the food distribution system and human health with a specific focus on childhood obesity in Arkansas. He has worked in partnership with the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement to identify environmental contributors to excess weight gain and to understand the needs of student populations at greatest risk for developing obesity. Dr. Thomsen has also led multidisciplinary initiatives to promote local food systems that are capable of providing fresh fruits and vegetables to Arkansas communities. As part of a coordinated effort through the National Bureau of Economic Research, he worked with leading economists from across the country to clarify the role of nutrition assistance on diet, health, and food security. Dr. Thomsen earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Utah State University in Agricultural Economics and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
Kari Weber, Ph.D., MHS
Dr. Weber researches the impact of the changing environment on maternal and child health. One focus is how greenspace (i.e., parks, tree canopy) can improve negative health exposures (i.e., air pollution, extreme heat) to reduce maternal hypertensive disorders and adverse birth outcomes (i.e., birth defects, stillbirth). She also studies the role of increased physical activity on childhood health.
Dr. Weber and her graduate students play an integral role in the center’s efforts around green schoolyards and in supporting the center’s work on health initiatives with community-school partners.
Amber Kaufman, MPA
Amber is the Program Director for the Center for the Study of Obesity. She possesses expertise is in planning and implementing public services and programs, especially for children.
A native Arkansan, Amber completed her undergraduate studies in Public Administration at the University of Central Arkansas and was a Norbert O. Schedler Honors College scholar. Amber then served as a Children, Youth, and Families Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines for three years.
Amber earned her master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Georgia and then worked as a civilian for the Georgia Department of Defense. During her tenure, she served in multiple leadership positions, including as the Deputy Director for Milledgeville Youth ChalleNGe Academy and a Program Consultant for the State Personnel Office.
Stephanie M. Lopez-Neyman, Ph.D., MPH, RD, LD
As a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Study of Obesity, Dr. Lopez-Neyman has extensive experience working with federal nutrition assistance programs, specifically with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
Dr. Lopez-Neyman’s research focuses on multilevel nutrition interventions to improve health equity in diverse populations, local food environment interventions to foster healthier food choices, relevant policies and programs likely to influence obesity-related behaviors such as dietary intake and physical activity to prevent or reduce obesity, nutrition standards and school meals to advance a positive food environment, and maternal nutrition to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, and healthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors from birth throughout the life course to reduce adverse cardiometabolic conditions. Dr. Lopez-Neyman was awarded the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and continues to serve as a Schweitzer Fellow for Life. Dr. Lopez-Neyman is a proud United States Army veteran, she served her country with distinction.
Xueying Ma, Ph.D.
Dr. Xueying Ma is a postdoctoral fellow with the Center for the Study of Obesity. Xueying’s current research interests include examining whether policies designed to make meals more accessible can prevent the medical diagnosis of behavioral disorders that may lead to disciplinary events at school, and to understand the impact of universal school meals on the quality and affordability of food at home. Xueying’s previous research used both primary and secondary data to study the potential socioeconomic effects of improved quality in blueberry and cranberry fruits on market demand. Furthermore, she investigated how the supply of other apple varieties associated with introducing a new variety of apples to the market. Xueying earned her B.Econ. in International Economics and Trade from Henan Agricultural University in China, her M.S. in Econometrics and Quantitative Economics from University at Buffalo-SUNY, and her M.S. in Statistics and Ph.D. in Economics from Washington State University.
Ciara Jenkins
Ciara was an MPH 4+1 student that recently graduated from Philander Smith University. Ciara is a graduate assistant with the Center while she is obtaining her Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology. During her previous work with Serving Underrepresented Populations through Engagement and Research (S.U.P.E.R.) Project, Ciara gained knowledge about Institutional Review Boards, creating pre-and post-assessments, as well as hosting interventions. Ciara’s background also includes to working with food insecurity in Little Rock. Ciara’s work has created change in her community, and she brings the same enthusiasm to our team.
Ciara is an integral part of our Green Schoolyard Study which aims to help create better play areas for children in grades K-5. She helps communicate with parents about the purpose of the study at local community events. Ciara has also created REDCap participant surveys to help with the data collection during after-hours playground observation.
Affiliated Researchers
Matthew J. Barenie, Ph.D.
Dr. Barenie was a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for the Study of Obesity until August 2024. He is an Assistant Professor of Exercise Science in the Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Sport at the University of South Alabama. Given his exercise and nutritional physiology expertise as a Registered Dietitian, he will continue to support the design, implementation, and dissemination of community-led research efforts within the center. Continuing to work with Dr. Thomsen, other UAMS study personnel, and community research partners he plans to understand how playground interventions can improve opportunities for physical activity among students and the broader school communities.
Past research done by Dr. Barenie involves optimizing human performance and accelerating muscle recovery and performance through various nutraceuticals. Dr. Barenie earned his B.S. in Dietetics from Indiana University, M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics from Saint Louis University, and his Ph.D. in Human Performance – Exercise Physiology from Indiana University.
Bryan Mader, DrPH
Dr. Mader is a health specialist for the Family and Consumer Sciences department of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service (UADA). He works with the Arkansas Delta Region Obesity Project (ArDROP), a CDC-funded, multicounty project to lower Arkansas obesity rates by improving access to healthy foods and increasing opportunities for physical activity. Future ArDROP efforts aim to focus on childhood obesity in the Delta by partnering with UAMS East to create improved Family Healthy Weight Programs and school-based outreach efforts. With a passion for public health, Dr. Mader joined the Center to help improve the health of Arkansans through work with the Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension’s 75 county network as a vehicle for health promotion and behavior change. Mader has over a decade of experience in community food systems and helped increase access to healthy foods statewide. Dr. Mader earned his B.A. in Psychology from Arkansas Tech University, and his MPH in Health Behavior and Health Education and DrPH in Public Health Leadership from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health.