Shreela V. Sharma, PhD, RD, LD
Professor, Epidemiology, Human Genetics & Environmental Sciences
[email protected]
Dr. Shreela Sharma is Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Texas, School of Public Health in Houston, TX. Dr. Sharma is a behavioral epidemiologist with specific interest in food insecurity, nutritional epidemiology and diet-related chronic diseases in vulnerable, underserved populations and has a robust, federally-funded research program in this area. Dr. Sharma has led several different studies to develop and evaluate the CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) program, including CATCH Early Childhood proven to improve obesity prevention among at-risk preschool age children, and the NIH-funded CATCH Healthy Smiles for oral health promotion to prevent dental caries among elementary age children.
More recently, Dr. Sharma is engaged in several COVID-19 related projects including a Texas state-wide COVID-19 Symptom Tracking initiative, conducting rapid analysis of COVID-19 data for the Texas Medical Center, and the local health departments, developing resources such as www.texaspandemic.org, an interactive COVID-19 dashboard providing real-time assessment of the spread of COVID-19 in Texas, assessing the impact of COVID-19 and the related financial crisis on employment, food security, and other social needs among vulnerable populations in Texas, and providing recommendations for public health decision-making. As part of these efforts, Dr. Sharma is co-investigator for the NIH-funded RADx project to increased uptake of COVID-19 testing in high-risk Texas communities.
Dr. Sharma is committed to serving the community; she is co-founder and principal investigator in the evaluation of Brighter Bites, a nationwide non-profit dedicated to providing fresh produce and nutrition education to low-income children and their families. She serves on the Board of Directors for the University of Houston Friends of Women’s and Gender Studies Program. On behalf of UTHealth, Dr. Sharma co-leads the Greater Houston Coalition on Social Determinants of Health, a Harris-county wide effort focused on mitigating food insecurity and other social determinants of health among its residents. She has a PhD in Epidemiology with a minor in biostatistics, and is a registered dietitian in the state of Texas.
Current Projects
Brighter Bites
This project is a collaborative effort to impact eating behavior among predominantly low-income families by introducing them to a routine distribution of fresh produce and corresponding education, ultimately to curb the childhood obesity epidemic.
ENRICH (Encouraging Nurturing Responsiveness to Improve Child Health)
ENRICH stands for Encouraging Nurturing Responsiveness to Improve Child Health. This research project works to help parents establish healthy eating, activity, bedtime, and screen time routines.
CATCH Healthy Smiles
CATCH Healthy Smiles teaches students why toothbrushing, flossing, dentist visits, and healthy food and drink choice are important to oral health. Students will learn and practice the skills necessary to maintain healthy smiles.
CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health)
CATCH is a research-based program designed to guide schools, families and children in healthy eating and physical activity.
HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living)
This project is a clinic-community based intervention to implement an early life-cycle approach to obesity prevention among pregnant women and women with infants from low-income families.
Recent Publications
Measures of Physical Activity and Body Mass Index in Hospital Workers: A Multisite Cross-Sectional Study.
John, J., Swartz, M. D., Hoelscher, D., Huber, C., & Sharma, S. (2019). Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 61(5), e176–e182.
The Nourish Program: An innovative model for cooking, gardening and clinical care skill enhancement for dietetics students.
McWhorter, J. W., Raber, M., Sharma, S. V., Moore, L. S., & Hoelscher, D. M. (2019). Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 119(2), 199–203.
Maternal Lactase Polymorphism Is Associated with Neural Tube Defects in Offspring in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study.
Hoang, T. T., Lei, Y., Mitchell, L. E., Sharma, S. V., Swartz, M. D., et al. (2019). The Journal of nutrition, 149(2), 295–303.
Interventions targeting diet quality of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants: A scoping review
Verghese, A., Raber, M., & Sharma, S. (2019). Preventive medicine, 119, 77–86.
The Nourish Program: An innovative model for cooking, gardening and clinical care skill enhancement for dietetics students
McWhorter, J. W., Raber, M., Sharma, S. V., Moore, L. S., & Hoelscher, D. M. (2019). Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 119(2), 199–203.
Impact of the Coordinated Approach to Child Health Early Childhood Program for Obesity Prevention among Preschool Children: The Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Study
Sharma, S. V., Vandewater, E., Chuang, R. J., Byrd-Williams, C., Kelder, S., et al. (2019). Childhood obesity (Print), 15(1), 1–13.
Behavior Modification of Diet and Parent Feeding Practices in a Community- Vs Primary Care-Centered Intervention for Childhood Obesity
Wilson, T. A., Liu, Y., Adolph, A. L., Sacher, P. M., Barlow, S. E., et al. (2019). Journal of nutrition education and behavior, 51(2), 150–161.e1.
Association between parent and child weight status among private school children in Delhi, India
Greene-Cramer, B., Harrell, M. B., Hoelscher, D. M., Sharma, S., Ranjit, N., et al. (2018). Global health promotion, 25(2), 67–74.
Dietary intake, attitudes toward healthy food, and dental pain in low-income youth.
Nicksic, N. E., Massie, A. W., Byrd-Williams, C. E., Kelder, S. H., Sharma, S. V., et al. (2018). JDR clinical and translational research, 3(3), 279–287.
Dietary intake, attitudes toward healthy food, and dental pain in low-income youth
Nicksic, N. E., Massie, A. W., Byrd-Williams, C. E., Kelder, S. H., Sharma, S. V., et al. (2018). JDR clinical and translational research, 3(3), 279–287.
Pilot Evaluation of HEAL - A Natural Experiment to Promote Obesity Prevention Behaviors Among Low-Income Pregnant Women
Sharma, S. V., Chuang, R. J., Byrd-Williams, C., Danho, M., Upadhyaya, M., et al. (2018). Preventive medicine reports, 10, 254–262.
Does the CATCH Early Childhood Program Increases Vigorous Physical Activity among Low-Income Preschoolers? – Results from a Pilot Study
Chuang, R. J., Sharma, S. V., Perry, C., & Diamond, P. (2018). American journal of health promotion : AJHP, 32(2), 344–348.
Best Practices and Barriers to Obesity Prevention in Head Start: Differences Between Director and Teacher Perceptions
Byrd-Williams, C., Dooley, E. E., Sharma, S. V., Chuang, R. J., Butte, N., et al. (2017). Preventing chronic disease, 14.
Best practices and barriers to obesity prevention in Head Start: Baseline differences in director and teacher perceptions from the TX CORD Study
Byrd-Williams, C., Dooley, E. E., Sharma, S. V., Chuang, R. J., Butte, N., et al. (2017). Preventing chronic disease, 14, E139.
Efficacy of a Community- Versus Primary Care-Centered Program for Childhood Obesity: TX CORD RCT
Butte, N. F., Hoelscher, D. M., Barlow, S. E., Pont, S., Durand, C., et al. (2017). Obesity, 25(9), 1584-1593.
Efficacy of a Community- vs. Primary Care-Centered Program for Childhood Obesity: TX CORD RCT
Butte, N. F., Hoelscher, D. M., Barlow, S. E., Pont, S., Durand, C., et al. (2017). Obesity, 25(9), 1584-1593.
Evaluating a school-based fruit and vegetable co-op in low-income children: a quasi-experimental study
Sharma, S. V., Markham, C., Chow, J., Ranjit, N., Pomeroy, M., et al. (2016). Preventive medicine, 91, 8–17.
Mapping of reviews on breastfeeding and obesity risk in children
Newsome, K., Rashid, T., Vonville, H. M., & Sharma, S. V. (2016). Current nutrition reports, 5(4), 255-277.
Brighter Sights: Using Photovoice for a process evaluation of a food co-op style nutrition intervention
Raber, M. P., Lopez, K. K., Pomeroy, M., Mody, A., Markham, C., et al. (2016). Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 9(3), 2.
Are Hospital Workers Healthy?: A Study of Cardiometabolic, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Factors Associated With Obesity Among Hospital Workers
Sharma, S. V., Upadhyaya, M., Karhade, M., Baun, W. B., Perkison, W. B., et al. (2016). Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 58(12), 1231-1238.
Are Hospital Workers Healthy? A Study of Cardiometabolic, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Factors Associated With Obesity Among Hospital Workers
(Sharma SV, Upadhyaya M, Karhade M, Baun WB, Perkison WB, Pompeii LA, Brown HS, Hoelscher DM; J Occup Environ Med.; 2016)
Effectiveness of the Lunch Is in the Bag Program on Communication Between the Parent, Child and Child-Care Provider Around Fruits, Vegetables and Whole Grain Foods: A Group-Randomized Controlled Trial
(Sharma SV, Rashid T, Ranjit N, Byrd-Williams C, Chuang RJ, Roberts-Gray C, Briley M, Sweitzer S, Hoelscher DM; Preventive Medicine; 2015)
The utility of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in systems-oriented obesity intervention projects: the selection of comparable study sites for a quasi-experimental intervention design--TX CORD
(Oluyomi AO, Byars A, Byrd-Williams C, Sharma SV, Durand C, Hoelscher DM, Butte NF, Kelder SH; Child Obesity; 2015)
The association between sports participation and dietary behaviors among fourth graders in the School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey, 2009-2010
(Dortch KS, Gay J, Springer, AE, Kohl, HW, Sharma, SV, Saxton, DL, Hoelscher, DM.; American Journal of Health Promotion, 2014)
Relation of parental practices and home environment to physical activity and television viewing behaviors among low-income, minority preschoolers in Texas
(Chuang RJ, Sharma, SV, Skala K, Evans, AE, Hedberg AM; American Journal of Health Promotion, 2013)
Nutrition-related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Dietary Behaviors Among Head Start Teachers in Texas: A Cross-Sectional Study
(Sharma SV, Byrd-Williams C, Truxillo JB, Rahman GA, Skala K, Hoelscher, DM; Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2013)
Ethnic differences in the home food environment and parental food practices among families of low-income Hispanic and African-American preschoolers
(Skala K, Chuang RJ, Evans AE, Sharma SV; Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2013)
Introduction of farm stands in low-income communities increases fruit and vegetable consumption among community residents
(Evans AE, Jennings R, Smiley A, Medina J, Sharma SV, Rutledge R, Stigler MH, Hoelscher DM; Journal of Health & Place , 2012)
Environmental characteristics and student physical activity in PE class: Findings from two large urban areas of Texas
(Skala K, Springer AE, Sharma SV, Hoelscher DM, Kelder SH ; Journal of Physical Activity and Health , 2012)
Long-term physical activity outcomes of home-based lifestyle interventions among breast and prostate cancer survivors
(Ottenbacher A, Day RS, Taylor W, Sharma SV, Sloane R, Synder D, Kraus WE, Lipkus IM, Jones LW, Denmark-Wahnerfried W. ; Supportive Care in Cancer , 2012)
Ethnic differences in the home food environment and parental food practices among families of low-ncome Hispanic and African American preschoolers
(Skala K, Sharma SV, Evans AE, Chuang RJ, Hedberg AM, Dave J ; Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health , 2012)
Reliability and validity of The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers (SOFIT-P). Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science
(Sharma SV, Atteberry H, Chuang RJ; Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 2011)
Exercise among breast and prostate cancer survivors - what are their barriers?
(Ottenbacher AO, Day RS, Taylor W, Sharma SV, Sloane R, Snyder D, Kraus WE, Demark-Wahnefried W. ; Journal of Cancer Survivorship: Research and Practice , 2011)
Pilot-testing CATCH Early Childhood: A Preschool-based Healthy Nutrition and Physical Activity Program
(Sharma SV, Chuang RJ, Hedberg AM; Journal of School Health, 2011)
Psychosocial factors influencing calcium intake and bone quality in middle-school girls
(Sharma SV, Hoelscher DM, Kelder SH, Diamond PM, Day RS, Hergenroeder A; Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2011)