NIH, R56
Mary Gerend, PhD at FSU College of Medicine: Principal Investigator 
Nicole Ennis, PhD: Co-Investigator

Using a rigorous experimental approach, this project works to identify mechanisms through which weight discrimination harms health. Findings will facilitate the long-term goal of this research: developing interventions to decrease the negative health consequences of weight discrimination. As a step toward this goal, this project proposes three experiments in which a diverse sample of adults with obesity will be randomly assigned to experience (vs. not experience) weight discrimination in a controlled experimental setting. Drawing on previous research and our pilot data, the interpersonal contexts chosen for these studies simulate situations in which people with obesity commonly experience weight discrimination in their daily lives (e.g., health care and employment settings). Exposure to weight discrimination (vs. control) is hypothesized to result in elevated responses on early-stage mechanisms that culminate in poor cardiovascular health (e.g., impaired self-regulation, cognitive vigilance to signs of social disapproval, higher negative emotion, more social withdrawal and comfort eating, increased cortisol secretion and inflammation). This research will identify novel and highly modifiable targets for interventions designed to reduce the negative health effects of weight discrimination and, at a broader level, this work will provide critical insight into mechanisms that underlie adverse health effects of other common forms of social stigma such as discrimination due to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or social class.

NIH, U54
Nicole Ennis, PhD: Faculty Development Core Co-Investigator 

The mission of the FLORIDA FIRST Health Science Brigade (aka The FLORIDA FIRST Brigade) is to transform institutional culture at Florida State University to generate a self-sustaining scientific community dedicated to inclusive excellence. The program recruits new tenure-track assistant professors from diverse backgrounds using a cohort-based model and invests in the development, mentorship, advancement, and retention of new faculty in two broad domains of research excellence: chronic disease prevention and management; and mental health. The FLORIDA FIRST Brigade implements a systems-level approach to support individual faculty research and career development (micro), within their cohort and collaborative networks (meso), that can be replicated through sustainable changes to university culture (macro).