Tanja Adam

Tanja received her PhD in Neurobiology from the Maastricht University in The Netherlands in 2005. She also has a MSc degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Trier in Germany.

Coming from a clinical background, Tanja has been intrigued by the exploration of mind-body interactions with regard to food intake regulation. For her graduate work Tanja has investigated the role overweight, exercise and weight loss on Glucagon-like Peptide 1 (GLP-1) regulation. From 2005 to 2007 she has been a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSF examining the role of stress on food intake via brain reward circuitries. Tanja has been working as a Research Associate with the Department of Preventive Medicine at USC since 2008. At USC she investigates the role of brain reward as a potential link between Insulin Sensitivity and Weight Gain in Latino children.

Kim-Anne Lê

Kim-Anne Lê, PhD, is a post-doctoral research associate in the USC Department of Preventive Medicine. She is currently funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, which supports outstanding Swiss scientists.

Kim-Anne obtained her PhD degree in 2008 at the Department of Physiology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland under the direction of Prof. L. Tappy. Her main interest is to understand the physiological mechanisms leading to ectopic lipid accumulation in the liver, pancreas and muscle, and related metabolic disorders. She studied the role of macronutrients, more specifically fructose, in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Her research is mainly translational, and she has conducted several clinical studies during her PhD work, using a broad range of techniques, such as hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp, tracer studies, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and evaluation of gene expression in tissue biopsies. As a biologist, she developed a great interest for clinical studies, and completed a Certificate in Clinical Research Methodology, Epidemiology and Statistics.

Besides her research activities, Kim-Anne has also been involved in teaching duties, including practicals in physiology, and supervision of bachelor and master students. She is also currently collaborating with the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, in the development of a didactic electronic game aimed at preventing weight gain in teenagers.

Claudia Toledo-Corral

Claudia is a post-doctoral research associate studying insulin resistance and ectopic fat deposition in Latino and African-American youth.

Claudia received her PhD in 2010 and an MPH in 2006 at the USC the Keck School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine. Her doctoral studies were funded by an NRSA fellowship (F31) when she studied the effects of insulin resistance and other cardiometabolic risk factors on atherosclerosis risk in overweight Latino youth. Her dissertation work has been published in journals such as Atherosclerosis and Journal of Pediatrics. In addition, Claudia has collaborated on many other projects including a dietary and strength-training intervention for overweight minority youth.

In addition to her research, Claudia is also very committed to the teaching discipline. Prior to coming to USC, she was recognized by the California State University Northridge, Biology department for her dedication to teaching with an Outstanding Teaching Associate Award. At USC, she was a popular teaching assistant in the Health Promotion Department and participated as a Teaching Assistant Fellow in the Center for Excellence in Teaching.

Emily Ventura

Emily Ventura, MPH, PhD, is a post-doctoral research associate working with the CORC on projects related to dietary intake and risk for obesity and chronic diseases.  She completed her PhD in Preventive Medicine in 2009 and her MPH in 2007, both at USC, as well as her BA at in Biology and Society/Latin American Studies in 2000 at Cornell University. Emily spent 2010 in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar, where she worked as a visiting professor at the University of Gastronomic Sciences and conducted research on culture and diet at the University of Verona.

Tanya Alderete

Tanya received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a Chemistry minor and an additional concentration in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. Before beginning at USC, Tanya worked as a Research Assistant in Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania and USC. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Systems Biology and Disease under Dr. Michael Goran. Tanya is one of the four recipients of the 2010 Clinical and Translational Science Institute TL1 training grant. Her research interest involves understanding mechanisms and biological pathways that contribute to human disease. Specifically, her current research is aimed at understanding the role of inflammation in obesity related disease risks. 

Lauren Gyllenhammer

Lauren Gyllenhammer received a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is in her first year of the Preventive Medicine/Health Behavior Research Doctoral Program in the Keck School of Medicine. Currently, Lauren's graduate study is funded by USC Provost's Ph.D. Fellowship Program. Lauren is broadly interested in biological mechanisms in health and behavior change and in applying this to work amongst metabolically at-risk overweight children

Ryan Walker

Ryan is currently a Ph.D. student in the Systems Biology and Disease doctoral program at the Keck School of Medicine at USC and is a research assistant under the direction of Drs. Michael Goran and Hooman Allayee.

Before joining the CORC team, Ryan received a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2001. Ryan spent 7 years as a professional chef in both San Francisco and New York City prior to earning his Master of Science in Applied Physiology and Nutrition from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2008. Ryan has worked as both an Exercise Physiologist and Research Coordinator for the New York Obesity Research Center under Jeanine Albu, M.D.

Ryan’s current research focuses on the effects of dietary fructose malabsorption on liver fat levels and genetic differences in liver fat synthesis and storage in African American and Hispanic youth.