Faculty Directory
Kirsten Davison
Donahue and DiFelice Endowed Chair
Associate Dean for Research
Kirsten Davison
Ph.D.
Contact
McGuinn 115
Email: kirsten.davison@bc.edu
Education
- B.A., Otago University, New Zealand
- M.S., The Pennsylvania State University
- Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University
Research Interests
Parenting and children's lifestyle behaviors (e.g., diet, physical activity and sleep); family interventions to prevent child obesity; physical activity and child mental health; development and validation of conceptual frameworks and parent-report surveys; community-based participatory research; implementation science
Expertise
- Disparities
- Evaluation
- Maternal and Child Health
Profile
Kirsten K. Davison, MS, PhD, is the Donahue and DiFelice Endowed Chair and Associate Dean for Research in the School of Social Work at Boston College. Following the completion of her PhD in Human Development and Families Studies at Penn State University, Dr. Davison held faculty appointments at SUNY Albany (2003–2011) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2011–2019) before joining the faculty at Boston College in July 2019. Dr. Davison leads an extramurally-funded research program focused on parenting and child health outcomes, with a particular focus on underserved families in a domestic setting. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, current studies include a randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of a childhood obesity preventive intervention for low-income families implemented in Head Start, a cohort study examining links between sleep and growth in children from birth to 2 years, and a national study examining the role of fathers in childhood obesity prevention. Beyond her research, Dr. Davison has led transdisciplinary postgraduate training programs including the Public Health Nutrition doctoral program and the Cancer Prevention and Control fellowship program at Harvard and has an extensive history mentoring undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students.
Selected Publications
Davison K.K., Birch L.L. Childhood overweight: a contextual model and recommendations for future research. Obesity Reviews. 2001; 2(3):159-171.
Davison K.K., Jurkowski J.M., Li K., Kranz S., Lawson H.A. A childhood obesity intervention developed by families for families: results from a pilot study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2013;10:3.
Davison K.K., Gicevic S., Aftosmes-Tobio A., et al. Fathers' Representation in Observational Studies on Parenting and Childhood Obesity: A Systematic Review and Content Analysis. American Journal of Public Health. 2016;106(11):1980.
Bowling A, Slavet J, Miller D, Hanuese S, Beardsley W, Davison KK. Cybercyling effects on classroom behavior in children with behavioral health disorders: An RCT. Pediatrics 2017; 139(2): e20161985.
Bowling A, Blaine RE, Kaur R, Davison KK. Shaping healthy habits in children with neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders: parent perceptions of barriers, facilitators and promising strategies. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2019. 16:52.
Beckerman J.P., Aftosmes-Tobio A., Kitos N., Jurkowski J.M., Lansburg K., Kazik C., Gavarkovs A., Vigilante A., Kalyoncu Z.B., Figueroa R., Klabunde R., Barouch R., Hanuese S., Taveras E., Davison K.K. and the CHL study team. Communities for Healthy Living (CHL) – A family-centered childhood obesity prevention program integrated into Head Start services: Study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials. 2019, 78, 34-45.
Davison K.K., Gavarkovs A., McBride B., Kotelcheck M., Levy R., Taveras E.M. Engaging fathers in early obesity prevention during the first 1000 days: Policy, systems and environmental change strategies. Obesity. 2019, 27(4), 525-533.
Figueroa, R., Saltzman, J. A., Aftosmes-Tobio, A., & Davison, K. (In Press).The Obesity Parenting Intervention (OPTION) Scale: Factorial validity and invariance among Head Start parents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Selected Grants
08/12/19-04/31/24 (R01HD098421)
Paternal Effects on Child Weight Outcomes
Sponsor: NIH, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Role: co-PI (multi-PI with Jess Haines)
09/01/198/31/24 (T32 CA057711)
Harvard Education Program in Cancer Prevention Control
Sponsor: NIH, National Cancer Institute
Role: co-PI (multi-PI with Karen Emmons)
09/25/15-07/31/20 (R01DK108200 )
Empowerment as a Mechanism for Change in Childhood Obesity Prevention
Sponsor: NIH, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Role: PI
09/30/15-07/31/20 (R01DK107972)
Infant Sleep Patterns and Accelerated Growth Trajectories from Birth to 24 months
Sponsor: NIH, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Role: co-PI (multi-PI with Elsie Taveras and Susan Redline)
09/01/14-08/31/19 (R25CA057711)
Harvard Education Program in Cancer Prevention Control
Sponsor: NIH, National Cancer Institute
Role: PI
6/10/13-5/31/16 (R21HD074554)
Snacking in Young Children: Parental Definitions, Goals and Feeding Practices
Sponsor: NIH, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Role: co-PI (multi-PI with Jennifer Fisher)
9/21/09 - 8/31/11 (R24MD004865)
A Childhood Obesity Prevention Program Designed by Families for Families
Sponsor: NIH, National Center for Minority Health Disparities
Role: co-PI (multi-PI with Janine Jurkowski)
5/01/04 - 4/01/08 (R01HD046567)
Predictors of Adolescent Girls’ Physical Activity
Sponsor: NIH, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Role: PI
Selected Appointments & Awards
2019 Donahue and DiFelice Professorship, Boston College
2017 Alice Hamilton Award, Harvard School of Public Health
2017 Leadership Institute, Society for Behavioral Medicine
2011 Donald and Sue Pritzker Professorship, Harvard School of Public Health
Research Projects
Rise & SHINE (Sleep Health in Infancy & Early Childhood)
Rise & SHINE is a longitudinal cohort study that examines infants’ sleep patterns between birth and 2 years, familial and environmental determinants of these patterns and their effect on accelerated weight gain over the first two years of life.
Communities for Healthy Living (CHL)
The CHL program is a family-centered obesity prevention program for low income families enrolled in Head Start. Grounded in family and empowerment theories and developed in collaboration with Head Start staff and low-income parents using community-based participatory research, CHL engages parents as co-leaders and addresses life challenges beyond those typically targeted in obesity interventions.