Dr. June Stevens is an obesity epidemiologist with a large research program focusing on the causes, consequences, and prevention of obesity. She studies the impact of obesity on cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, physical functioning and hospitalizations. Her work on causes of obesity includes ethnicity, acculturation, state-level policies and home environments, to name but a few. Her prevention work includes multiple studies, starting with the Pathways trial that developed and tested programs to prevent obesity in American Indian children.
Stevens is known for her methodologic work on study design, environmental measures, sources of bias in trials, and body composition assessment. She is often sought out by journals to write commentaries on topics such as the definition of weight maintenance, methods to evaluate obesity prevention interventions, and metabolically healthy obesity.
Stevens has served as an obesity expert for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization.
She has received numerous awards for her achievements, and has been Principal Investigator of research grants that generated more than $32 million, and has collaborated on projects with other investigators to secure millions in additional funding.
June Stevens in the Gillings news
Honors and Awards
Stunkard Lifetime Achievement Award
2018, The Obesity Society
Authored Article Cited as a Top News Story of 2014 by The Obesity Society
2014, The Obesity Society
Affiliate of Corpus Christy College
2013-present, Cambridge University
Receipient of the 2012 Centrum Center Award
2012, American Society for Nutrition
Representative Courses
NUTR 885 Doctoral Seminar
NUTR 814/EPI 261 Obesity Epidemiology
Research Interests
- Cancer
- Nutrition and Physical Activity
- Obesity
Practice Activities
Active Projects
Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research Coordinating Unit
Measurements to enhance research in childhood obesity (Ancilliary project to Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research Coordinating Unit)
A Novel Diet Phenotype Interaction Affecting body weight
Nutrition Innovation Collaboration
Percent body fat equations for the United States Population
Education
Fellow, Epidemiology, Medical Univ. of So Carolina, 1987
Fellow, Epidemiology, New England Epid Institute, 1992
PhD, Human Nuitrition, Cornell University, 1986
MA, Human Nutrition, Pennsylvania State, 1978
RD, Clinical Dietetics, Cleveland Metro. Gen. Hosp, 1975