Amanda McClain, PhD, MS

Scientist in Residence

My research program seeks to understand the biobehavioral pathways linking food insecurity to chronic disease and to address food insecurity and limited food access as a lever for improving dietary intake and preventing and reducing poor cardiometabolic health. Specifically, I use population science (e.g., cohort data) and community-engaged research methods, including mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative data), to answer real-world/applied research questions. For example, many of my research projects are centered on understanding the day-to-day intricacies of providing a household with enough nutritious and culturally relevant food, including the food shopping and food preparation strategies that households employ to ensure food security. Understanding this lived experience informs the development of feasible interventions that make the daily food provisioning responsibilities easier, less stressful, and more sustainable over time for low-income and working-class households, while also improving their dietary quality and health. I also work closely with community-based organizations, in a scientific advisory role, to help them fulfill their mission and achieve their goal of promoting food security and health equity in their communities. My long-term research goal is to promote cardiometabolic health equity and healthy life trajectories of historically marginalized populations by using health and social science perspectives to:

1. Understand how the stress of marginalization, especially food insecurity and food access issues, shape food choice and dietary intake and ‘get under the skin’ to impact allostatic load and cardiometabolic risk, primarily among Hispanic/Latino households, and

1. Identify and leverage existing social, material, human, and cultural capacities (i.e., assets), as a part of multi-level, behavior-change interventions embedded in existing infrastructure (e.g., federally qualified health centers, food assistance programs), to mitigate the stress of marginalization and promote food security and healthy behaviors (nutritious diets and physical activity)

For the SDSU HealthLINK Center Community Engagement Core – Family Health Centers of San Diego Scientist-in-Residence Program, my goals are to:

1. Better understand the clinical pathways for FHCSD patients diagnosed with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension.
2. Discern the different programs offered through FHCSD to address nutrition-related behaviors and chronic disease, as well as social determinants of health.
3. Gain knowledge and experience with FHCSD’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) system.

As a result of participating in the Scientist-in-Residence program, I propose to develop the following products:

1. Develop concept map outlining clinical pathways and programs for patients with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, hypertension; and programs to address SDOH (specifically food insecurity).
2. Document of EHR components and data elements relevant to the population and research area and summarize relevant EHR data, if applicable.

Develop priority research questions and funding mechanisms for future grant applications.