Dr. Cynthia Bartok's Lab
Research Aims
Our research focuses on age-related alterations in the control of skeletal muscle blood flow, its role in cardiovascular regulation during exercise, and how these changes impact the health and functioning of older women and men. These studies are conducted at University Park and at Hershey Medical Center in collaboration with physician scientists at the Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute.
Research Team
To identify methods for testing body fat in children that are accurate, easy, and harmless so that early detection of obesity becomes standard clinical practice.
To study variation in body composition due to lifestyle, growth, and development.
Key Questions:
- Why do some infants/children become overweight and overfat during the early years of life? This substantially raises their risk of obesity during their lifetime. If we learn when and how to intervene early, we may be able to prevent a problem from happening.
- What are the health effects of gaining excess weight and/or body fat during early childhood?
- As parents play a profound role in the development of their children’s lifestyle habits, how can we help them live healthier lives?
Description of Research Projects
Footprints 1: The Footprints Study observes the of infant growth and behavior patterns of babies from 0 to 6 months of age and their mothers. We are currently recruiting babies who will receive substantial amounts of pumped breastmilk served by bottle. The study involves six monthly visits to the laboratory and occasional record keeping of infant food intake and behavior. Financial compensation and a high-quality breast pump are provided. Please contact Darcy Gungor at deg182@psu.edu OR 863-0505 to get information about the study.
Footprints 1 Longitudinal: Footprint 1 children and both biological parents are eligible for this study. The research purpose is to continue to learn about how infants eat, behave, and grow during the early years of life as well as learn about parents’ health behaviors after having a child. Families are followed intermittently for up to 5 years following the birth of the Footprints child.
Footprints 2 Multi-method validation study: The purpose of this study is to assess the precision and accuracy of the Bod Pod and iDXA for testing body fatness levels in children 6 months to 3 years. We would like to know if the equipment we use in older children and adults is reliable for use in infants and toddlers. We are currently recruiting children for this study. Please contact Ryan Rosendale at rpr135@psu.edu OR 863-0505 to get information about the study.
Footprints 3 iDXA Study: This study evaluates feasibility and precision of the GE Lunar iDXA equipment for measuring the body composition of young children. We are cu-rrently recruiting children for this study. Please contact Cynthia Bartok at cjb25@psu.edu OR 865-03115 to get information about the study.
Footprints 4: This study looks at growth patterns in the first two years of life to see which periods of rapid growth are the riskiest for predicting overweight at age 5-7 years. This study is not currently recruiting study volunteers.
Other Services Provided: In partnership with the Center for Childhood Obesity Rsearch, our lab provides services to mothers returning to work or school while still breastfeeding and/or pumping. Information about the Breastfeeding Support Program at Penn State can be found at http://www.hhdev.psu.edu/breastfeeding/
Research Team
Cynthia Bartok PhD, RD: Principal Investigator
Darcy Gungor: Graduate Student
Ryan Rosendale: Graduate Student
Megan Baylis: Research Associate
Maggie Ellis: Research Associate
Susan Chase BSN, IBCLC: Lactation Consultant