The Living Free Lab Team

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rwgoode@email.unc.edu
919-962-6429
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Rachel W. Goode, PhD, MPH, LCSW

Assistant Professor
Lab Director and Principal Investigator, Living F.R.E.E. Lab

Dr. Goode is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill). She received her PhD, MPH, and MSW from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests include developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions to address racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in obesity and eating disorders. Her research has been funded by the NIH, National Eating Disorders Association, Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, Magee Womens Research Institute, and the University Research Council at UNC-Chapel Hill. Additionally, Dr. Goode is a licensed clinical social worker, and has practice experience with the treatment of eating disorders and obesity among clients in university counseling centers, and community-based mental health agencies. She has been fortunate to be the recipient of various awards, including the Oprah Civic Leadership Award, National Health, Lung, Blood Institute (NIH) Research Service Award, and the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She is currently the principal investigator of an NIH/NIDDK Career Development Award (K23) to design a culturally-relevant digital health intervention to treat binge eating and obesity in Black women.

raminea@unc.edu
704-250-5093

Ramine Alexander, PhD, MPH

Research Project Manager, Living F.R.E.E. Lab

Dr. Alexander received her Ph.D. Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise and MPH in Health Education, from Virginia Tech. As an intervention scientist, her research interest includes utilizing Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) to improve lifestyle risk factors (i.e., diet and physical activity) that have a direct relevance to obesity and chronic disease. Through CBPR approaches a primary goal of her work is to involve the voice of the community in the research process to promote intervention sustainability. Dr. Alexander has a passion for building health equity, conducting research on the social determinants of health, and using innovative approaches to communicate science.

The Lab Team

Tyisha Harper-Cooks, MBA

Project Coordinator

Tyisha Harper joined UNC Nutrition Research Institute in December 2021 as a Project Coordinator in the Goode Lab. She is originally for Milwaukee, WI and relocated to the Charlotte area with her new husband. While in Milwaukee, WI Tyisha worked as a Research Program Coordinator and Community Engagement Coordinator at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is excited to learn and develop her research career here. Tyisha is motivated by spiritual affirmations and her favorite one is Psalms 46:5, “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”

Ana Paola Campos, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Dr. Campos completed her PhD in Social Work at Boston College and a Master in Nutrition at Iberoamericana University in Mexico City. Her research examines risk and protective factors for child malnutrition, including obesity, among underserved populations. Her current research interests have been shaped by a gradual evolution of experiences from diverse clinic- and community-based research projects in Mexico, Guatemala, and the U.S. A more recent area of her research focuses on adapting and testing a parenting intervention to prevent child obesity among Hispanic families.

Myneesha King

Community Health Outreach Coordinator

Myneesha is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University’s Professional Theatre Department. Her background includes education, social services, pilot program management, and human resources. Myneesha taught middle and high school theatre in both Charlotte Mecklenburg and Cabarrus County Schools. She has a passion remains for community outreach and the development of underserved populations. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and exploring cultural events.

Julian Robles

Research Associate

Julian is a Kannapolis native who is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Religious Studies. He is a Chancellor’s Science Scholar and worked at the NRI as an undergraduate. Julian is a research assistant in Dr. Goode’s lab where he is engaging in qualitative research around eating disorders and engaging in the community. He is interested in exploring a possible career in research, but would like to go to medical school to become a pediatric oncologist. Some of Julian’s interests include reading, riding motorcycles, hiking, and being a positive impact.