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Jonathan B. Brown, MPP, PhD
Gregory N. Clarke, PhD
Robert L. Davis, MD, MPH
Lynn L. DeBar, PhD
Mary L. Durham, PhD
David Feeny, PhD
Adrianne C. Feldstein, MD, MS
Jeffrey Fellows, PhD
Andrew G. Glass, MD
Katrina Goddard, PhD
Carla A. Green, PhD, MPH
Christina Gullion, PhD
Brian Hazlehurst, PhD
Teresa A. Hillier, MD, MS
Jack F. Hollis, PhD
Mark C. Hornbrook, PhD
Eric Johnson, PhD, MPH
Njeri Karanja, PhD
Frances L. Lynch, PhD
Mary Ann McBurnie, PhD
Richard T. Meenan, PhD
Allison Naleway, PhD
Gregory A. Nichols, PhD
Rachel Novotny, PhD
Nancy A. Perrin, PhD
Michael R. Polen, PhD
Douglas Roblin, PhD
David H. Smith, RPh, PhD
Victor J. Stevens, PhD
Thomas M. Vogt, MD, MPH
William M. Vollmer, PhD
Suma Vupputuri, PhD, MPH
Sheila Weinmann, PhD, MPH
Evelyn P. Whitlock MD, MPH

Investigator Emeritus
Donald K. Freeborn, PhD
Merwyn R. Greenlick, PhD
John P. Mullooly, PhD
Clyde R. Pope, PhD
Barbara G. Valanis, DrPH


Photo of Rachel Novotny
Rachel Novotny, PhD, Senior Investigator
Dr. Novotny's research focuses on how diet, physical activity, and body size affect health and disease. Specifically, she is interested in how periods of rapid growth affect overall health. She has worked in the Pacific Region for 18 years and is familiar with traditional and modern culture and lifestyles.

Dr. Novotny is Principal Investigator for the Healthy Living in the Pacific Islands Initiative and its Healthy Pacific Child Program, which is using community based research to develop and test a dietary tool to assess the diets of children of the Pacific Region, and an intervention to modify the food system to decrease obesity. Her Female Adolescent Maturation (FAM) Cohort is examining nutritional, physical activity, and genetic factors influencing indicators of maturation, body composition, and growth. She also served as the PI of the Samoan Women's Health Assessment, which determined how body size affected a woman's risk for chronic disease.

Dr. Novotny holds a MS and PhD in International Nutrition from Cornell University, where she was awarded a graduate teaching assistantship and a graduate research assistantship. Dr. Novotny completed Post-doctoral work in Public Health, focusing on Maternal-Child Health. Dr. Novotny serves as a regular reviewer for the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the Journal of Nutrition, the American Journal of Epidemiology, and the Journal of Pediatrics. She reviews grant proposals for the American Dietetic Association, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the USDA's Competitive Grant Program. Dr. Novotny holds a Registered Dietitian's License.

Prior to her appointment at CHR, Dr. Novotny served Chair for the University of Hawaii's Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences for the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. She retains her appointment as Professor of Nutrition, as well as her appointments as a Clinical Professor of the John A Burns School of Medicine and an Associate Member of the University's Cancer Research Center of Hawaii.

Current Studies:
  • Betelnut Ingestion and Oral Health Practices Among Chamorros and Micronesians in Guam
  • Breast Density Assessment by Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry in Women and Girls
  • Cancer Research Network: Cancer Prevention Index project
  • Cancer Research Network: Health Literacy project
  • Effects of Soy on Estrogens in Breast Fluid and Urine
  • Health Care Needs of Hawaii Island
  • Healthy Living in the Pacific Islands: Healthy Child Program
  • HMO Research Network Cardiovascular Research Network—CVRN
  • Imi Hale
  • National Children's Study
  • Nutritional and Genetic Determinants of Early Puberty
  • Nutritional Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes in the Multiethnic Cohort
  • Pacific Kids DASH for Health
  • Physical Activity in Mothers with Infants
  • Translational Research Center for Diabetes Control within Managed Care Settings (TRIAD 2)
  • Work, Weight, and Wellness: The 3W Program

    Recently Completed Studies:
  • BMI and Ethnic Admixtures
  • Evaluation of Risk Factors for Chronic Disease Amoung Adults in Guam

    E-mail: Rachel.Novotny@kp.org

    © 2008 Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente
    Updated 28 Feb 08