Dr. Wendy Slusser (Santa Monica), associate clinical professor of pediatrics at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, has been named the 2010 recipient of the Robert F. Allen Symbol of H.O.P.E (Helping Other People through Empowerment) Award.
The award is presented annually by the American Journal of Health Promotion to an individual who makes an outstanding contribution to serving the health promotion needs of underserved populations or to promoting cultural diversity within health promotion. It includes a cash award made possible through grants provided by the California Wellness Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and individual donors.
"We are pleased to recognize the important contributions Dr. Slusser has made as a leader in community, school, clinic, and family based programs related to health promotion, infant and child nutrition and physical fitness," said Dr. Michael O'Donnell, president of the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Slusser is co-founder and medical director of the UCLA Fit for Healthy Weight program, founder and co- director of UCLA's Community Health and Advocacy Pediatric Residency Training Program and also a staff pediatrician at the Venice Family Clinic's Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center.
She currently serves as the principal investigator on several studies including the Prevention of Childhood Overweight through Parent Training Intervention Project which is focused on low-income preschool children and their parents and the Fit for Residents Curriculum development and pilot testing project. She is also co-principal investigator for the evaluation of the Nutrition Network Los Angeles Unified School District Project.
Her previous research has included involvement with the Fruit and Vegetable Bar Intervention study to promote fruit and vegetable consumption among low-income elementary school children; the development of the Nutrition Friendly School criteria; and the CIGNA Corporation's National program called "Working Well Mom."
The American Journal of Health Promotion is a peer-reviewed research journal focusing on the science of lifestyle change, including weight-control, stress management and smoking cessation.
