Dr. Liz Budd (she/her/hers) is an Evergreen Assistant Professor situated within the College of Education, Counseling Psychology and Human Services Department, and affiliated with the Family and Human Services and Prevention Science programs. Dr. Budd is also a member of the Health Promotion Initiative (https://blogs.uoregon.edu/hpop/) and Prevention Science Institute. Nationally, Dr. Budd holds leadership roles in the Physical Activity Section of the American Public Health Association.

Dr. Budd’s teaching and research interests are centrally located in the field of public health, but are transdisciplinary in nature, reflective of her training. The goal of her research is to prevent the onset of chronic diseases, especially among groups with heightened risk, in order to achieve population-level health equity. Specifically, she examines the policies and environmental factors (social and physical) that influence physical activity and healthy eating. She has a particular interest in youth, adolescent girls, and Latino/a/x community members. Dr. Budd also works to implement, evaluate, and foster the sustainability of evidence-based interventions to promote healthy behaviors in community settings.

Dr. Budd enjoys weaving her research into her teaching of Contemporary Issues in Public Health and Transdisciplinary Problem-Solving in Public Health, often employing standing ovations and other physical activity breaks throughout class. Dr. Budd grew up in Oregon, but completed most of her training in St. Louis, Missouri. She encourages undergraduate and graduate students to reach out to her if they are interested in gaining research experience.

PhD, 2016, Washington University in St. Louis, Brown School of Social Work and Public Health, St. Louis, MO

Major: Social Work with a Public Health focus

MPH, 2009, St. Louis University, College for Public Health and Social Justice, St. Louis, MO

Major: Behavioral Science and Health Education

BS, 2005, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA

Majors: Sociology and Spanish Studies

Most Recent Publications:

Budd, E. L., Giuliani, N. R., & Kelly, N. R. (2021). Perceived neighborhood safety moderates the association between racial discrimination stress and chronic health conditions among Hispanic/Latino adults. Frontiers in Public Health, 9(585157). https://doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.585157.

Travalire, H. F., Budd, E. L., Natsuaki, M. N., Neiderhiser, J. M., Reiss, D. D., Shaw, D. S., Ganiban, J. M., & Leve, L., D. (2020). Using a sibling-adoption design to parse genetic and environmental influences on children’s body mass index (BMI). PLoS ONE, 15(7), e0236261. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236261

Budd, E. L., Nixon, C. T., Hymel, A. M., Tanner-Smith, E. E. (2020). The impact of afterschool program attendance on academic outcomes of middle school students. Journal of Community Psychology, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22416

Budd, E. L., Franz, D. J., Kelly, N. R.†, & Giuliani, N. R.† (2020). Oregon parents’ perceptions of the supportiveness of the school environment for their children’s health behaviors. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, S1499-4046(20), 30056-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2020.02.004

Budd, E. L., Liévanos, R. S., & Amidon, B. (2020). Open campus policies: How built, food, social, and organizational environments matter for Oregon public high school students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(2), 469. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020469

Budd, E. L., Ying, X., Stamatakis, K., deRuyter, A. J., Wang, Z., Sung-Chan, P., …& Brownson, R., C. (2019). Developing a tool to assess the implementation of evidence-based chronic disease prevention interventions in public health settings across four countries. Frontiers in Public Health, 7(152). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00152

Furtado, K. S., Budd, E. L., Armstrong, R., Pettman, T., Reis, R., Sung-Chan, P., …& Brownson, R. C. (2019). A cross-country study of mis-implementation in public health practice. BMC Public Health, 19(270), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6591-x

Budd, E. L., McQueen, A., Eyler, A. A., Haire-Joshu, D., Auslander, W. F., & Brownson, R.C. (2018). The role of physical activity enjoyment in the pathways from the social and physical environments to physical activity of early adolescent girls. Preventive Medicine, 111, 6–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.02.015

Budd, E. L., deruyter, A. J., Wang, Z., Sung-Chan, P., Ying, X., Furtado, K. S., Brownson, R. C. (2018). A qualitative exploration of contextual factors that influence dissemination and implementation of evidence-based chronic disease prevention across four countries. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3054-5

Approximately, 88% of deaths in the United States can be attributed to chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The odds of developing a chronic disease are primarily determined by a combination of one’s genetics, health behaviors (foremost, physical activity and dietary intake), and characteristics of the environments in which people live. Dr. Budd examines the 1) policies and 2) environmental factors that influence physical activity and healthy eating, primarily among youth; and 3) investigates factors associated with the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions to prevent chronic diseases and promote population-level health equity.