Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Protacs – A Novel And Rapidly Developing Field Of Targeted Protein Degradation, Hannah R. Gatley

Theses and Dissertations

There is a continued need for new technology and strategies for tackling cancer and other diseases, and within the current century a novel therapeutic strategy has emerged in the realm of targeted protein degradation called Proteolysis-Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs). This technology specifically targets and degrades disease-causing proteins via the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and has seen an explosion of research and intrigue in both academia and industry over the past two decades. The diversity of PROTAC classes based on the E3 ligase recruiting ligand and the target protein allows for a universal molecular structure that can be customized for a specific target and …

Development Of A Chemical Biology Approach To Uncover The Influence Of Sequence Variations On Ces1 Activity In Live Cells, Samuel James Knebel

Masters Theses

Drug metabolism is the biochemical process of modifying drugs to detoxify and remove them through enzymatic transformations. These biotransformation’s occur primarily in the liver and are critical to understanding how pharmaceutical compounds are chemically altered inside the human body. Human carboxylesterases (CESs) catalyze the hydrolysis of esters, amides, thioesters, and carbamates. CES-mediated hydrolysis plays an important role in the metabolism of many drugs including the first FDA approved antiviral treatment for COVID-19, remdesivir (Veklury), the seizure control medication rufinamide (Banzel), and the flu antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu). CES activity is known to be influenced by a variety of factors including …

Oral Gauze For Bleeding Control In Perioral And Perinasal Dermatologic Surgery, Riyad N H Seervai, Jose A Cervantes, Ikue Shimizu, Ida F Orengo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The use of oral gauze is a quick, cheap, and effective method of preventing bleeding into the patient's mouth during dermatologic surgery. We recommend this technique combined with appropriate positioning for lesions in the perioral and perinasal regions. Similar approaches may be applied for the prevention of bleeding into the ear canal during facial/periauricular surgery.

Structural Basis Of Ferroportin Inhibition By Minihepcidin Pr73, Azaan Saalim Wilbon, Jiemin Shen, Piotr Ruchala, Ming Zhou, Yaping Pan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Ferroportin (Fpn) is the only known iron exporter in humans and is essential for maintaining iron homeostasis. Fpn activity is suppressed by hepcidin, an endogenous peptide hormone, which inhibits iron export and promotes endocytosis of Fpn. Hepcidin deficiency leads to hemochromatosis and iron-loading anemia. Previous studies have shown that small peptides that mimic the first few residues of hepcidin, i.e., minihepcidins, are more potent than hepcidin. However, the mechanism of enhanced inhibition by minihepcidins remains unclear. Here, we report the structure of human ferroportin in complex with a minihepcidin, PR73 that mimics the first 9 residues of hepcidin, at 2.7 …

The Gastrointestinal-Brain-Microbiota Axis: A Promising Therapeutic Target For Ischemic Stroke, Yan-Hao Wei, Ren-Tang Bi, Yan-Mei Qiu, Chun-Lin Zhang, Jian-Zhuang Li, Ya-Nan Li, Bo Hu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Ischemic stroke is a highly complex systemic disease characterized by intricate interactions between the brain and gastrointestinal tract. While our current understanding of these interactions primarily stems from experimental models, their relevance to human stroke outcomes is of considerable interest. After stroke, bidirectional communication between the brain and gastrointestinal tract initiates changes in the gastrointestinal microenvironment. These changes involve the activation of gastrointestinal immunity, disruption of the gastrointestinal barrier, and alterations in gastrointestinal microbiota. Importantly, experimental evidence suggests that these alterations facilitate the migration of gastrointestinal immune cells and cytokines across the damaged blood-brain barrier, ultimately infiltrating the ischemic brain. …

A Novel Use Of Bar Code Medication Administration Data To Assess Nurse Staffing And Workload, Melissa K Knox, Paras D Mehta, Lynette E Dorsey, Christine Yang, Laura A Petersen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to introduce an innovative use of bar code medication administration (BCMA) data, medication pass analysis, that allows for the examination of nurse staffing and workload using data generated during regular nursing workflow.

METHODS: Using 1 year (October 1, 2014-September 30, 2015) of BCMA data for 11 acute care units in one Veterans Affairs Medical Center, we determined the peak time for scheduled medications and included medications scheduled for and administered within 2 hours of that time in analyses. We established for each staff member their daily peak-time medication pass characteristics (number of patients, …

A Rare Case Of Pancreatic Actinomyces, Marguerite Poche, Kyle Liu, Codey Pham, Shilpa Jain, Robert Sealock

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Actinomyces israelii is a filamentous, gram-positive anaerobic bacterium commonly found in the upper gastrointestinal tract, colon, and female genital tract. Rarely, actinomycosis can infect the pancreas most commonly after pancreatic instrumentation, often mimicking malignancy. We describe a case of a 26-year-old woman who presented with epigastric abdominal pain and nausea without prior pancreatic instrumentation. Abdominal imaging demonstrated a mass in the pancreatic head with fine-needle biopsy revealing Actinomyces. The patient was successfully treated with long-term antibiotic therapy resulting in resolution of the mass. Our case emphasizes the importance of considering nonmalignant etiologies in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic masses.

Native Bk Polyomavirus Nephropathy In An Orthotopic Heart Transplant Patient, Zachary M Thompson, George Ajene, Prathit A Kulkarni, Nidhi Aggarwal, Savitri Fedson, Maulin K Shah

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BK polyomavirus nephropathy (BKVN) is a common cause of nephropathy in kidney transplant patients and is typically seen within the first year after transplantation. BK polyomavirus nephropathy can occur in the native kidneys of patients with nonrenal solid-organ transplants (NRSOT). However, this is rare, especially outside the early post-transplant period, and BKVN is not usually considered in the differential diagnosis for acute kidney injury in NRSOT patients. We present a case of a 75-year-old man who had undergone orthotopic heart transplant 13 years prior with stable allograft function who developed progressive renal dysfunction in the setting of recent unilateral obstructive …

Targeting Hiv-1 Reservoirs In T Cell Subsets, Min Li, Marietta M Budai, Min Chen, Jin Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The HIV-1 reservoirs harbor the latent proviruses that are integrated into the host genome. It is a challenging task to eradicate the proviruses in order to achieve an HIV cure. We have described a strategy for the clearance of HIV-1 infection through selective elimination of host cells harboring replication-competent HIV (SECH), by inhibition of autophagy and promotion of apoptosis during viral re-activation. HIV-1 can infect various CD4+ T cell subsets, but it is not known whether the SECH approach is equally effective in targeting HIV-1 reservoirs in these different subsets in vivo. In a humanized mouse model, we found …

Optical Coherence Tomography For Dynamic Investigation Of Mammalian Reproductive Processes, Kohei Umezu, Irina V Larina

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The biological events associated with mammalian reproductive processes are highly dynamic and tightly regulated by molecular, genetic, and biomechanical factors. Implementation of live imaging in reproductive research is vital for the advancement of our understanding of normal reproductive physiology and for improving the management of reproductive disorders. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is emerging as a promising tool for dynamic volumetric imaging of various reproductive processes in mice and other animal models. In this review, we summarize recent studies employing OCT-based approaches toward the investigation of reproductive processes in both, males and females. We describe how OCT can be applied to …

Adeno-Associated Virus 8 Delivers An Immunomodulatory Peptide To Mouse Liver More Efficiently Than To Rat Liver, Yuqing Wang, Ayrea Hurley, Marco De Giorgi, Mark R Tanner, Rong-Chi Hu, Michael W Pennington, William R Lagor, Christine Beeton

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Targeting the Kv1.3 potassium channel has proven effective in reducing obesity and the severity of animal models of autoimmune disease. Stichodactyla toxin (ShK), isolated from the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus, is a potent blocker of Kv1.3. Several of its analogs are some of the most potent and selective blockers of this channel. However, like most biologics, ShK and its analogs require injections for their delivery, and repeated injections reduce patient compliance during the treatment of chronic diseases. We hypothesized that inducing the expression of an ShK analog by hepatocytes would remove the requirement for frequent injections and lead to a …

Combating Hypertension Beyond Genome-Wide Association Studies: Microbiome And Artificial Intelligence As Opportunities For Precision Medicine, Sachin Aryal, Ishan Manandhar, Xue Mei, Beng S Yeoh, Ramakumar Tummala, Piu Saha, Islam Osman, Jasenka Zubcevic, David J Durgan, Matam Vijay-Kumar, Bina Joe

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The single largest contributor to human mortality is cardiovascular disease, the top risk factor for which is hypertension (HTN). The last two decades have placed much emphasis on the identification of genetic factors contributing to HTN. As a result, over 1,500 genetic alleles have been associated with human HTN. Mapping studies using genetic models of HTN have yielded hundreds of blood pressure (BP) loci but their individual effects on BP are minor, which limits opportunities to target them in the clinic. The value of collecting genome-wide association data is evident in ongoing research, which is beginning to utilize these data …

Open-Source, Highly Efficient, Post-Acquisition Synchronization For 4d Dual-Contrast Imaging Of The Mouse Embryonic Heart Over Development With Optical Coherence Tomography, Andre C Faubert, Irina V Larina, Shang Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Dynamic imaging of the beating embryonic heart in 3D is critical for understanding cardiac development and defects. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) plays an important role in embryonic heart imaging with its unique imaging scale and label-free contrasts. In particular, 4D (3D + time) OCT imaging enabled biomechanical analysis of the developing heart in various animal models. While ultrafast OCT systems allow for direct volumetric imaging of the beating heart, the imaging speed remains limited, leading to an image quality inferior to that produced by post-acquisition synchronization. As OCT systems become increasingly available to a wide range of biomedical researchers, a …

Engineered Cd4 T Cells Expressing A Membrane Anchored Viral Inhibitor Restrict Hiv-1 Through Cis And Trans Mechanisms, Weiming Wang, Khanghy Truong, Chaobaihui Ye, Suman Sharma, Huan He, Lihong Liu, Michael Wen, Anisha Misra, Paul Zhou, Jason T Kimata

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

HIV-1 infection of target cells can occur through either cell-free virions or cell-cell transmission in a virological synapse, with the latter mechanism of infection reported to be 100- to 1,000-fold more efficient. Neutralizing antibodies and entry inhibitors effectively block cell-free HIV-1, but with few exceptions, they display much less inhibitory activity against cell-mediated HIV-1 transmission. Previously, we showed that engineering HIV-1 target cells by genetically linking single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) of antibodies to glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI) potently blocks infection by cell-free virions and cell-mediated infection by immature dendritic cell (iDC)-captured HIV-1. Expression of scFvs on CD4

A Novel Interaction Between Extracellular Vimentin And Fibrinogen In Fibrin Formation, Marina Martinez-Vargas, Adrian Cebula, Lisa S Brubaker, Nitin Seshadri, Fong W Lam, Michele Loor, Todd K Rosengart, Andrew Yee, Rolando E Rumbaut, Miguel A Cruz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Thrombosis is frequently manifested in critically ill patients with systemic inflammation, including sepsis and COVID-19. The coagulopathy in systemic inflammation is often associated with increased levels of fibrinogen and D-dimer. Because elevated levels of vimentin have been detected in sepsis, we sought to investigate the relationship between vimentin and the increased fibrin formation potential observed in these patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This hypothesis was examined by using recombinant human vimentin, anti-vimentin antibodies, plasma derived from healthy and critically ill patients, confocal microscopy, co-immunoprecipitation assays, and size exclusion chromatography.

RESULTS: The level of vimentin in plasma derived from critically ill …

Neprilysin Inhibitors In Heart Failure: The Science, Mechanism Of Action, Clinical Studies, And Unanswered Questions, Biykem Bozkurt, Ajith P Nair, Arunima Misra, Claire Z Scott, Jamal H Mahar, Savitri Fedson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This article provides a contemporary review and a new perspective on the role of neprilysin inhibition in heart failure (HF) in the context of recent clinical trials and addresses potential mechanisms and unanswered questions in certain HF patient populations. Neprilysin is an endopeptidase that cleaves a variety of peptides such as natriuretic peptides, bradykinin, adrenomedullin, substance P, angiotensin I and II, and endothelin. It has a broad role in cardiovascular, renal, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and neurologic functions. The combined angiotensin receptor and neprilysin inhibitor (ARNi) has been developed with an intent to increase vasodilatory natriuretic peptides and prevent counterregulatory activation …

Impact Of Gastrointestinal Polymerase Chain Reaction Panels On Antibiotic Utilization In Hospitalized Adult Patients, Gillean A Kelly, Roumen Iordanov, Alex Franklin, Amna Ahmed, Krithika Srinivasan, Jesica Hayon, Todd Lasco, Rosie Amini, Sabra Shay, Prathit A Kulkarni, Mayar Al Mohajer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Multiplex stool polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panels offer rapid comprehensive testing for patients with infectious diarrhea. We compared antibiotic utilization among hospitalized patients with suspected infectious diarrhea who underwent diagnostic testing with either a stool culture or stool PCR panel. No significant differences in antibiotic utilization were identified.

Mortality Difference From Klebsiella Aerogenes Vs Enterobacter Cloacae Bloodstream Infections, Andrew Chou, Richard Sucgang, Richard J Hamill, Lynn Zechiedrich, Barbara W Trautner

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Members of the order Enterobacterales, including Escherichia coli , Klebsiella species and Enterobacter species, are important pathogens in healthcare-associated infections. Higher mortality has been reported from infections due to Klebsiella pneumoniae than from E. coli , but prior studies comparing Enterobacter aerogenes (recently renamed Klebsiella aerogenes ) bacteraemia and Enterobacter cloacae complex bacteraemia have yielded conflicting results regarding whether clinical outcomes differ. We found bacteraemia with K. aerogenes was independently associated with greater risk of 30-day mortality than bacteraemia with Enterobacter cloacae complex.

Development Of A Peripheral Blood Transcriptomic Gene Signature To Predict Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, Alvaro Moreira, Miriam Tovar, Alisha M Smith, Grace C Lee, Justin A Meunier, Zoya Cheema, Axel Moreira, Caitlyn Winter, Shamimunisa B Mustafa, Steven Seidner, Tina Findley, Joe G N Garcia, Bernard Thébaud, Przemko Kwinta, Sunil K Ahuja

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common lung disease of extreme prematurity, yet mechanisms that associate with or identify neonates with increased susceptibility for BPD are largely unknown. Combining artificial intelligence with gene expression data is a novel approach that may assist in better understanding mechanisms underpinning chronic lung disease and in stratifying patients at greater risk for BPD. The objective of this study is to develop an early peripheral blood transcriptomic signature that can predict preterm neonates at risk for developing BPD. Secondary analysis of whole blood microarray data from 97 very low birth weight neonates on day of …

Second Virtual International Symposium On Cellular And Organismal Stress Responses, September 8-9, 2022, Patricija Van Oosten-Hawle, Sarah J Backe, Anat Ben-Zvi, Dimitra Bourboulia, Mara Brancaccio, Jeff Brodsky, Melody Clark, Giorgio Colombo, Marc B Cox, Paolo De Los Rios, Frank Echtenkamp, Adrienne Edkins, Brian Freeman, Pierre Goloubinoff, Walid Houry, Jill Johnson, Paul Lapointe, Wei Li, Valerie Mezger, Len Neckers, Nadinath B Nillegoda, Veena Prahlad, Adam Reitzel, Ruth Scherz-Shouval, Lea Sistonen, Francis T F Tsai, Mark R Woodford, Mehdi Mollapour, Andrew W Truman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The Second International Symposium on Cellular and Organismal Stress Responses took place virtually on September 8-9, 2022. This meeting was supported by the Cell Stress Society International (CSSI) and organized by Patricija Van Oosten-Hawle and Andrew Truman (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA) and Mehdi Mollapour (SUNY Upstate Medical University, USA). The goal of this symposium was to continue the theme from the initial meeting in 2020 by providing a platform for established researchers, new investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and students to present and exchange ideas on various topics on cellular stress and chaperones. We will summarize the highlights of …

A Guide To Naming Eukaryotic Circular Rnas, Ling-Ling Chen, Albrecht Bindereif, Irene Bozzoni, Howard Y Chang, A Gregory Matera, Myriam Gorospe, Thomas B Hansen, Jørgen Kjems, Xu-Kai Ma, Jun Wei Pek, Nikolaus Rajewsky, Julia Salzman, Jeremy E Wilusz, Li Yang, Fangqing Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Alternative splicing of eukaryotic transcripts often leads to production of multiple mature RNAs from a single gene locus. In addition to encoding linear RNAs, genes can produce stable circular RNAs (circRNAs) that are often co-expressed with their cognate linear RNAs. Multiple distinct circRNAs are frequently generated from a gene locus via back-splicing, with each mature transcript having a potentially unique function due to its distinct combination of exons and sometimes retained introns. However, names currently given to circRNAs are often ambiguous and lack consistency across studies. Here, we call on the community to embrace standards for naming circRNAs so that …

How Do Necrotic Cells Expose Phosphatidylserine To Attract Their Predators-What’S Unique And What’S In Common With Apoptotic Cells, Yoshitaka Furuta, Zheng Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a lipid component of the plasma membrane. It is asymmetrically distributed to the inner leaflet in live cells. In cells undergoing apoptosis, phosphatidylserine is exposed to the outer surfaces. The exposed phosphatidylserine acts as an evolutionarily conserved “eat-me” signal that attracts neighboring engulfing cells in metazoan organisms, including the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and mammals. During apoptosis, the exposure of phosphatidylserine to the outer surface of a cell is driven by the membrane scramblases and flippases, the activities of which are regulated by caspases. Cells undergoing necrosis, a kind of cell …

Treatment Of Severe Covid-19 Infection With Remdesivir In Peritoneal Dialysis, Ryan Geffin, Shazia Raheem, Lavannya M Pandit, Andrew S Hunter, Michael W Holliday, Aditya V Rao, Maulin K Shah

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

End-stage kidney disease (ESKD) has been shown to be correlated with an increased risk of COVID-19 infection and mortality. Remdesivir is an effective non-EUA U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antiviral agent for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized adult and pediatric patients, though a lack of data has prevented its use in patients with severe kidney disease including dialysis patients. Some observational studies report the use of remdesivir in hemodialysis patients, but there are no reports of patients treated with remdesivir on peritoneal dialysis. Dialysis modalities may affect drug pharmacokinetics, and safety and efficiency of remdesivir in peritoneal dialysis …

Quantitative Measurement Of Protac Intracellular Accumulation, Xin Yu, Jin Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In recent years, Proteolysis Targeting Chimera (PROTAC) technology has emerged as one of the most promising approaches to remove disease-associated proteins by utilizing cells' own destruction machinery. To achieve successful degradation of a protein of interest (POI), the heterobifunctional PROTAC molecules must penetrate into the cells first, followed by target engagement and formation of the POI-PROTAC-E3 ligase complex. Based on this understanding, the assessment of cell permeability and in cell target engagement are of great importance to evaluate the efficacy of PROTAC candidates. PROTAC molecules can be classified as non-covalent and covalent, and covalent PROTACs can be further divided into …

Gestational Vulnerability To Ozone Air Pollution - A Placental Story, Vishnupriya Alavala, Sarah Brent, Russell Hunter, Matthew J. Campen, Andrew Ottens

Undergraduate Research Posters

About 99% of the global population resides in areas with air pollution surpassing World Health Organization standards. Air pollution is associated with adverse neonatal health outcomes such as low fetal birth weight and an increased risk for maternal pre-eclampsia. A particularly reactive air pollutant is ozone, which forms reactive oxygen species that induce cellular damage. Research exists on the dispersion of reactive oxygen species through the bloodstream leading to fetal vulnerability during pregnancy, specifically via the placenta. Yet, placental and fetal development is a temporal process with varied susceptibility to negative gestational outcomes.

To addressing this gap, our laboratory utilized …

Feasibility And Effectiveness Of A Worksite-Weight-Loss Program For Cancer Prevention Among School-District Employees With Overweight And Obesity, Che Young Lee, Michael C Robertson, Hannah Johnston, Thuan Le, Margaret Raber, Ruth Rechis, Katherine Oestman, Alise Neff, Amber Macneish, Karen M Basen-Engquist

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The effects of Vibrant Lives, a 6-month worksite-weight-loss program, were examined in a cohort of school-district employees with overweight or obesity. The VL Basic (VLB) participants received materials and tailored text messages, the VL Plus (VLP) participants additionally received WIFI-enabled activity monitors and scales and participated in health challenges throughout the school year, and the VL Plus with Support (VLP + S) participants additionally received coaching support. The levels of program satisfaction and retention and changes in weight, physical activity (PA), and diet were compared across groups using Pearson chi-square tests, repeated-measure mixed models, and logistic regression. After the program, …

Therapies For Mitochondrial Disorders, Kayli Sousa Smyth, Anne Mulvihill

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

Mitochondria are cytoplasmic, double-membrane organelles that synthesise adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondria contain their own genome, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is maternally inherited from the oocyte. Mitochondrial proteins are encoded by either nuclear DNA (nDNA) or mtDNA, and both code for proteins forming the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes of the respiratory chain. These complexes form a chain that allows the passage of electrons down the electron transport chain (ETC) through a proton motive force, creating ATP from adenosine diphosphate (ADP). This study aims to explore current and prospective therapies for mitochondrial disorders (MTDS). MTDS are clinical syndromes coupled with abnormalities …

Machine Learning And Protein Allostery, Sian Xiao, Gennady M. Verkhivker, Peng Tao

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The fundamental biological importance and complexity of allosterically regulated proteins stem from their central role in signal transduction and cellular processes. Recently, machine-learning approaches have been developed and actively deployed to facilitate theoretical and experimental studies of protein dynamics and allosteric mechanisms. In this review, we survey recent developments in applications of machine-learning methods for studies of allosteric mechanisms, prediction of allosteric effects and allostery-related physicochemical properties, and allosteric protein engineering. We also review the applications of machine-learning strategies for characterization of allosteric mechanisms and drug design targeting SARS-CoV-2. Continuous development and task-specific adaptation of machine-learning methods for protein allosteric …

Systemic Delivery Of Divalent Europium From Ligand Screening With Implications To Direct Imaging Of Hypoxia, Md Mamunur Rashid, Brooke A Corbin, Pavan Jella, Caitlyn J Ortiz, Md Abul Hassan Samee, Robia G Pautler, Matthew J Allen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Hypoxia is a hallmark of many diseases, including cancer, arthritis, heart and kidney diseases, and diabetes, and it is often associated with disease aggressiveness and poor prognosis. Consequently, there is a critical need for imaging hypoxia in a noninvasive and direct way to diagnose, stage, and monitor the treatment and development of new therapies for these diseases. Eu-containing contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging have demonstrated potential for in vivo imaging of hypoxia via changes in metal oxidation state from +2 to +3, but rapid oxidation in blood limits EuII-containing complexes to only studies compatible with direct injection to sites. …

Impact Of Covid-19 On A Worksite Weight Loss Program For Employees With Overweight And Obesity, Che Young Lee, Michael C Robertson, Kendahl Servino, Thuan Le, Margaret Raber, Katherine Oestman, Karen M Basen-Engquist

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic has been shown to be negatively associated with physical activity engagement, adherence to healthy diet, and weight management among people with obesity. The current study examined COVID-19-related changes in weight, physical activity (PA), and diet among employees with obesity or overweight who participated in Vibrant Lives (VL), a worksite weight loss program.

METHODS: School district employees participated in the 6-month VL weight loss program and were categorized into non-COVID-era participants and COVID-era participants. Participants completed questionnaires about PA and dietary intake at baseline and follow-up. COVID-era participants reported the effects of pandemic on their behaviors. Changes …