Iowa State University

Karas Award Winner

For Outstanding Dissertation in the Behavioral Sciences

Michelle Ihmels received her Ph.D. from Iowa State in December, 2007, from the Kinesiology Department  Her dissertation, entitled Creation and Validation of the Family Nutrition and Physical Activity (FNPA) Screening Tool, focused on a timely and important problem, obesity in children.  Michelle conceived, designed, and tested a screening tool that can identify children at-risk for obesity as well as intervention strategies to reduce the risk of obesity.

Working in partnership with the Des Moines school system, physical data and FNPA information on over 2,000 first graders in 37 schools were obtained. One year later, follow-up data were also collected to examine physical BMI changes in the children over time and the predictive utility of the FNPA.

Longitudinal analysis showed that the FNPA screening tool could predict the likelihood of children becoming overweight, which is new in the pediatric obesity literature, and provides a way to develop intervention strategies before a child becomes obese.
Dr. Gregory Welk, her major professor, reports “Michelle’s work was so well received by the Des Moines school district that we have now expanded our BMI training program to all Polk County Schools.”

Karas Award Honorable Mention

William Todd Abraham received his Ph.D. from Iowa State in December 2007 in the Psychology Department  His dissertation is titled Dispositional optimism and pessimism: Stability, change, and adaptive recovery following life event experiences.
His major professor Dr. Carolyn Cutrona writes “Todd’s dissertation is truly remarkable. Above all, it is extremely interesting. He poses the question: Can adults retain their sense of optimism over the years and through the many stressful experiences that life offers?  He places the question in the context of research on the stability of personality characteristics across the life span.”