Irene van Woerden, PhD

MPH Program Director, Associate Professor

Office: Reed Gym 242

(208) 282-3926

irenevanwoerden@isu.edu

Brief Biography

I am an applied statistician who studies health behaviors and outcomes. Among others, my research has indicated that the food insecurity measurement tools may not be working as expected among college students; shown similarities among friends, diet, and sleep behaviors: and shown peer selection and peer influence effects on BMI.

Education/Training

• PhD (Exercise and Nutritional Sciences), Arizona State University
• MS (Statistics), Arizona State University
• MS (Statistics), University of Canterbury, New Zealand
• BS (Statistics and Chemistry), University of Waikato, New Zealand

Teaching Interests

• Statistics

Research Interests

• Health behaviors and outcomes; social networks; food insecurity; BMI; chemical exposure; nuclear energy

Selected publications

1. van Woerden, I., Schaefer, D., Hruschka, D., Vega-Lopez, S., Adams, A., & Bruening, M. (2019) Similarity in meal plan use among first-year roommates. doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.104482
2. van Woerden, I., Bruening, M., Montresor-Lopez, J., & Payne-Sturges, D. (2019) Trends and Disparities in Urinary BPA Concentrations Among U.S. Young Adults. Environmental Research.
   org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.05.046
3. van Woerden, I., Hruschka, D., Vega-Lopez, S., Schaefer, D., Adams, A., & Bruening, M. (2019) Food insecure college students and objective measurements of their unused meal plans. 
   doi.org/10.3390/nu11040904
4. Bruening, M., van Woerden, I., Schaefer, D., Hruschka, D., Brewis, A., Whisner, C., Dunton, G.,   Todd, M., P, Ohri-Vachaspati., & Laska, M. (2018) Friendship as a social mechanism influencing body mass index (BMI) among emerging adults. PLoS ONE. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208894
5. van Woerden, I., Hruschka, D., & Bruening, M. (2018). Food insecurity negatively impacts academic performance. Journal of Public Affairs.
   org/10.1002/pa.1864