Fitness tracker intervention among Mel Cutler’s award-winning human health research

A program that focuses on health coaching and using technology to increase physical activity and tackle obesity is among the first winners of the Mel Cutler Population Health Pilot Research Award.

Health Informatics and Implementation Science FIT-COACH, led by Jamie Faro, PhD, assistant professor of public health sciences and Varun Ayyaswami, MD, assistant professor of medicine, is one of four projects that addressing important public health problems to receive $50,000. The Mel Cutler Award.

“We are grateful for the opportunity that the award gives us. We have a large interdisciplinary team of researchers and doctors who provide a unique perspective on the management of obesity as we continue its various medicines and exercise methods,” said Dr. Ayyaswami.

This study will evaluate a digital health intervention that integrates fitness tracker technology and health coaching into clinical care for obese patients taking weight loss medications such as GLP -1/GIPs. The study will enroll patients who have been taking weight loss medication for at least three months who are referred by their primary care providers.

“We’re working with patients who have been taking the medication for three months, and that’s a very important time because patients are still reaching the therapeutic dose. We suggest that the health benefits continue over time. long, there needs to be a part of a sustainable lifestyle that works in collaboration with medicine,” said Dr. Faro.

The 12-week trial aims to highlight the need for an integrated approach and lifestyle therapy to achieve lasting health benefits. About 40 patients will be enrolled in this study. After a visit with their primary care provider, patients will have six visits with a health coach during the 12-week intervention.

The study’s findings will inform the design of a larger trial, paving the way for safe, effective strategies to enhance physical activity and health outcomes in clinical practice.

Faro and Ayyaswami work with patients and providers at UMass Memorial Medical Center and a community medical group clinic in the Worcester area.

The Mel Cutler Population Health Pilot Research Award was launched in 2024 by the Population and Quantitative Health Sciences Advance Science Workgroup, led by Catarina I. Kiefe, MD, PhD, the Melvin S. and Sandra L. Cutler Chair in Biomedical Research and professor of population and health sciences.

The award supports early research and interdisciplinary collaboration, through “science that makes a difference,” to advance the field through knowledge production, new methods and technologies, and implementation strategies.

Dr. Kiefe said that this award is designed to support young members of the health education department in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences who are looking for additional research funds.

“Test scores are very important in accessing research funding outside of education. Often you need to have pilot data to show that you have thought through the project you are proposing and that you can implement it. These awardees have great ideas and a great opportunity to use their information from these projects to apply for extramural funding from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health,” Kiefe said.

Recipients of the Mel Cutler Population Health Pilot Research Award also include:

• Sarah Forrester, PhDassistant professor of population and health sciences: Project Dr. Forrester examines how maternal stress affects the acceleration of epigenetic age in two pairs of Black mothers and babies, an important study for improving the health outcomes of mothers and babies.
• Grace Ryan, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of population and health sciences; Melissa Goulding, PhD, assistant professor of population and health sciences; and Elise Stevens, PhD, associate professor of population and health sciences: A new mixed-methods project that aims to combat negative social media messages and promote cancer prevention behaviors, such as HPV vaccination and sunscreen use, among young people.
• Chan Zhou, PhD, assistant professor of population and health sciences: Research by Dr. Zhou aims to identify long non-transcribed RNAs as new biomarkers that can predict the risk of heart disease, especially in different populations, to promote health equity.