MCH’s Zvara invited to serve on CDC panel

January 4, 2016

Dr. Bharathi Zvara

Bharathi J. Zvara, PhD, research assistant professor of maternal and child health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, has been invited to serve on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Expert Panel.

The NHIS, one of the major data collection programs of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, is the primary source of data on health statistics in the U.S. NHIS data are used widely to monitor trends in illness and disability and to track progress toward achieving national health objectives. The data also are used by the public health research community for epidemiologic and policy analysis of timely issues such as characterizing those with various health problems, determining barriers to accessing and using appropriate health care, and evaluating federal health programs.

“Dr. Zvara will bring immense expertise on the many health indicators assessed in the NHIS that have an impact upon the well-being of women and children,” said Carolyn Halpern, PhD, professor and chair of the Gillings School’s Department of Maternal and Child Health. “We are pleased and proud that she has been invited to serve on this panel.”

Zvara, who joined the UNC Gillings School faculty in January 2015, is interested in understanding how psychobiological and environmental factors interactively contribute to healthy emotional and behavioral development in young children.

Guided by a developmental psychopathology framework, her research investigates the processes through which early risk and multiple factors within the family system (e.g., parent-child interactions) influence the development of children’s self-regulation, emotions and behaviors. She has a number of ongoing studies, including one line of inquiry that explores the parenting behaviors of mothers who were maltreated in childhood.

“I am thrilled at the prospect of representing UNC on this national committee,” Zvara said. “This is another opportunity for the Department of Maternal and Child Health to contribute to the dialogue on monitoring the health and well-being of families.”

About 15 health professionals serve on the NHIS expert panel, which is chaired by Michael Kogan, PhD, director of the Office of Epidemiology and Research at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).