RHODE Study
Dr. D'Agata is a nurse scientist and an Associate Professor at the University of Rhode Island. She joined the study as a co-investigator in 2019, and in 2022, she was named the PI of the RHODE Study following Mary Sullivan's retirement. Previously, Amy practiced as a bedside nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit, caring for sick and prematurely born infants and their families. As a researcher, she has studied how these experiences can impact health and development later in life. Her undergraduate education was earned from the University of Saint Joseph, and her graduate education from the University of Connecticut. Her dissertation work explored the relationship between NICU stress and genetic variation on preterm infant neurobehavior. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of South Florida, where she studied the gut microbiome of preterm infants. Amy is passionate about working with the RHODE Study participants and advancing our scientific understanding later life outcomes for preterm-born individuals.
Charles Eaton, MD, MS
Co-Investigator
Dr. Eaton is a Professor of Family Medicine and Epidemiology. He has been at Brown for the past 30 years and is Director of the Center for Primary Care & Prevention, including its Clinical Studies Center. Dr. Eaton is principal investigator for multiple epidemiologic studies and clinical trials, including: WHISH 2 Prevent Heart Failure-a large (40,000 women) pragmatic primary prevention exercise trial; Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities in Heart Failure: A cross-cohort collaboration; site PI of the ASPREE, aspirin trial and its extension; PI of the clinical center of the landmark Osteoarthritis Initiative, now in its 18th year, and co-lead of the Community engagement Core of the RI-Advance CTR. Our Center has evaluated over 20,000 participants over the past decades, including clinical exams, phlebotomy, cardiopulmonary testing, carotid IMT, coronary artery calcification, DEXA, body composition, doubly labelled water caloric assessments, fat and skin biopsies, X-rays, MRIs, dietary assessments, and accelerometry. Center professionals provide support for survey development, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, database development, data cleaning and statistical analysis.
Tara Smith, PhD
Study Coordinator
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Bing Lu, MD, DrPH
University of Connecticut
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Douglas Granger, PhD
Salimetrics
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Stephen Horvath, PhD
Altos Labs
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Lifang Hou, MD, PhD
Northwestern University
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Justin Parent, PhD
University of Rhode Island​
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Kevin Smith, PhD
Data Analyst
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Dorothy Vittner, RN, PhD
Fairfield University
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Valerie Duffy, PhD, RD
University of Connecticut
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George Slavich, PhD
UCLA
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Susan McCormack
Research Phlebotomist
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Kayla Albin, MBA
Research Assistant
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Sharon Capuano, MSN, RNP
Research Nurse