Kathryn Kaiser

Dr. Kathryn Kaiser is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health. She holds concurrent appointments in multiple research centers including the Center for Clinical and Translational Science and the Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC). Her research focuses on meta-research methodologies, race/sex disparities in obesity, systematic reviews of nutrition interventions, and advancing FAIR data principles for scientific communication.

Education: B.S. Microbiology (Texas A&M), B.S. Medical Technology (University of Texas Health Science Center), Ph.D. in Health Psychology (University of North Texas Health Science Center). Postdoctoral training in Vascular Biology/Hypertension at UAB. Extensive background in medical diagnostics instrumentation and laboratory science prior to academia.

Research Interests: Systematic review methodologies, FAIR data standards, obesity disparities with a focus on neuroendocrine mechanisms, and translational research in bariatric surgery outcomes. Specializes in methodological rigor for clinical trials and evidence synthesis.

Grants: NIH-funded projects on FAIR principles implementation, dairy intake research, obesity energetics, and lifespan studies. Recent grants include $2.1M for metadata education programs and $1.8M for knowledge mapping initiatives.

Awards: Recognized as 2015 Top Reviewer for American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Serves as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Nutrition. Active member of Cochrane Collaboration and multiple professional societies.

Teaching: Graduate courses in Health Program Evaluation, Psychophysiology, and Systematic Review Design. Supervises doctoral students in health behavior research through 30+ dissertation committees since 2011.

Labs/Teams: Key contributor to UAB's Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) and Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research (COERE). Collaborates with international metadata initiatives like Metadata 2020 and science dialogue mapping projects.