

Deborah Tate, PhD

Deborah Tate, PhD
Deborah Tate is a professor in the Department of Nutrition with 20 years of research in behavioral weight management, particularly delivered through web and mobile platforms.
Dr. Tate conducted several of the first randomized trials using the Internet and new technologies to deliver behavioral treatments for obesity and has continued to conduct a programmatic series of studies to determine which features of digital weight control programs contribute to efficacy.
Her research focuses on two main areas: (a) strategies for improving both short and long-term weight loss and (b) the translation of obesity treatment programs using alternatives to clinic-based care often involving new technologies. She has been continuously funded in obesity and digital health intervention research by the National Institutes of Health since 2000 and is known internationally for her work in web and mobile interventions.
Dr. Tate has published over 75 peer reviewed papers and conducted numerous RCTs based on self-regulation theory, as well as participated in multi-center trials of behavioral interventions; most involving new technologies.
Representative Courses
NUTR 802/803: Advanced Nutrition Intervention Research Methods I & II
HBHE811/NUTR 811: Development of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Interventions | Syllabus
Research Activities
Behavioral interventions
Obesity prevention and treatment
Health communications
Technology
Clinical trials
Nutrition
Service Activities
Intervention Committee Chair, Steering Committee Member, NHLBI - EARLY Trials (Early Adulthood Reduction of weight with LifesYle intervention- U01 Grant Consortium)
NIH Psychosocial Risk Disease Prevention (PRDP) Standing Member
Member, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
Member, Nutrition Obesity Research Center
Director, Communications for Health Applications and Intervention (CHAI) Core (joint service core of LCCC and NORC)
Key Publications
Deconstructing interventions: approaches to studying behavior change techniques across obesity interventions. Wing R.R., Tate D.F., Espeland M.A., Lewis C.E., LaRose J.G., Gorin A.A., Bahnson J., Perdue L.H., Hatley K.E., Ferguson E., Garcia K.R., Lang W.; Study of Novel Approaches to Weight Gain Prevention (SNAP) Research Group (2016). Translational Behavior Medicine, 6(2), 755-62.
A randomized trial to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage and juice intake in preschool-aged children: description of the Smart Moms intervention trial. Nezami B.T., Lytle L.A. and Tate D.F. (2016). BMC Public Health, 16(1), 847.
Innovative Self-Regulation Strategies to Reduce Weight Gain in Young Adults: The Study of Novel Approaches to Weight Gain Prevention (SNAP) Randomized Clinical Trial. Wing R.R., Tate D.F., Espeland M.A., Lewis C.E., LaRose J.G., Gorin A.A., Bahnson J., Perdue L.H., Hatley K.E., Ferguson E., Garcia K.R., Lang W.; Study of Novel Approaches to Weight Gain Prevention (SNAP) Research Group.. (2016). JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(6), 755-62.
Staff/Administrative Duties
Director, Communication for Health Applications and Interventions (CHAI) Core
Internal Advisory Board Member, Nutrition Obesity Research Center
Doctoral Program Committee, Department of Nutrition
Leadership Team Member, Cancer Prevention and Control Intervention Research, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
Education
PhD, Clinical Psychology, Virginia Tech, 1999
MS, Psychology, Virginia Tech, 1995
BA, English, College of William and Mary, 1989