Current Projects 

Dog Ownership and Physical Activity among Adolescents Enrolled in BodyWorks (PI: Larry Yin; Co-Investigators: Alexis Deavenport-Saman, Olga Solomon).

AltaMed STOMP program outcomes retrospective study (PI: Alexis Deavenport-Saman; Co Investigator: Larry Yin)

Publications

Bent, M. A., Valenzuela-Moss, J. N., Smith, K. A., Castillo, P., Van Speybroeck, A.,
Omar, H., Antoniak, K., Lin, A., & Wren, T. A. L. (2024). Using a mobile health app in a
weight management program for overweight and obese adolescents and young adults
with spina bifida. The journal of spinal cord medicine, 47(6), 977–986.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10790268.2023.2231675

Vidmar, A. P., Vu, M. H., Martin, M. J., Kim, A. G., Abel, S., Weitzner, M., Muñoz, C.
E., Kim, A., & Samakar, K. (2025). Early Reinitiation of Obesity Pharmacotherapy Post Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy in Youth: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Obesity
surgery, 35(2), 406–418. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-024-07658-8

Bent, M. A., Valenzuela-Moss, J. N., Smith, K. A., Castillo, P., Van Speybroeck, A., Omar, H., Antoniak, K., Lin, A., & Wren, T. A. L. (2023). Using a mobile health app in a weight management program for overweight and obese adolescents and young adults with spina bifida. The journal of spinal cord medicine, 1–10. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10790268.2023.2231675

Brennan RA, Larson J, Deavenport-Saman A, Kreutzer C. The role of the registered dietitian nutritionist in California group homes for weight stabilization of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Connections. Dietetics in Health Care Communities a Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2022;46(2):18-22.

Cosimini, M., Shah, P., Jung, C., Bennett, A., Fang, K., Solomon, O., & Espinoza, J. (2022). Cute Kid? Patient Obesity Status and the Use of Nonmedical Descriptors in Presentations by Pediatric Residents. Childhood obesity (Print), 10.1089/chi.2022.0157. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2022.0157

Espinoza, J.C., Chen, A.M., Deavenport-Saman, A., Solomon, O., Ponce, A., Sikder, A., ... Yin, L. (2021). Wearable Devices Decrease Attrition among Families Participating in an Obesity Intervention at a Federally Qualified Health Center. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 32(2), 13-24. doi:10.1353/hpu.2021.0048.

Espinoza, JC, Deavenport-Saman A, Solomon O, Chowdhuri S, Wee CP, Azen C, Orozco J, Kreutzer C, Yin L. Not just at school: inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder in a weight management program in a community pediatric setting. Autism. 2021;25(3):642-655. PMID: 33626921.

Polfuss M, Liu T, Smith K, Murphy PS, Ward E, Thibadeau J, Dosa NP, Wang Y, Sawin KJ. Weight status of children participating in the National Spina Bifida Patient Registry. Pediatrics. 2022; 150 (6). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-057007.