Dr. John Elder

Dr. Elder is a Professor in the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University and Coordinator of the SDSU/ UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Health Behavioral Science. He is the Principal Investigator and Director of the SDPRC. His domestic work spans obesity prevention, tobacco use, diet/nutrition, and physical activity. Dr. Elder's research topics are concerned with cardiovascular disease, tobacco use, sun exposure, diet/nutrition, and physical activity with particular attention to the health problems of Latinos.

Currently, he is the Principal Investigator of two NIH grants concerned with the prevention of obesity among Latino children and physical activity promotion among middle school girls. He has consulted for USAID, Rockefeller Foundation and WHO projects in 20 different countries on topics related to child survival, maternal and child health, dengue fever control, research design and social marketing. Dr. Elder serves on the Editorial Boards of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Family and Community Health, the Journal of Migrant Health, and the American of Journal of Health Behavior. He received the 2003 American Academy of Health Behavior Research Laureate award.