Harvard Catalyst Profiles

Dr. Angie Cradock is a Principal Research Scientist and the Deputy Director of the Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HPRC). The mission of the HPRC is to work with community partners to develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate cost-effective strategies that will improve population nutrition and physical activity, prevent excess weight gain and chronic disease, and advance health equity.

Dr. Cradock's research primarily focuses on the social, policy, and environmental factors associated with physical activity and nutrition behaviors among youth. Specifics area of interest include 1) using community-based participatory research strategies to foster partnership and innovation in promoting child health; 2) implementing and testing policy, organizational, and systems change interventions to improve nutrition and physical activity behaviors; and 3) using economic analysis to identify cost-effective interventions to address nutrition and physical activity behaviors and to prevent obesity.

Currently, Dr. Cradock serves as the Co-Principal Investigator of the CHOICES (Childhood Obesity Intervention Cost-Effectiveness Study) Project. This project has modeled the cost-effectiveness of interventions that can improve children’s nutrition and physical activity and reduce the prevalence of obesity. Results from this work are providing researchers and policymakers with both methods and data to use in deciding on the “best value for money” interventions to reduce obesity prevalence in children and adults in the United States. In addition, Dr. Cradock led the CHOICES Learning Collaborative Partnership, a training, technical assistance, and modeling initiative designed to build capacity among state and local decision-makers to understand and use cost-effectiveness analysis to identify childhood obesity prevention strategies that offer the best value for money.

Dr. Cradock earned her Doctor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Health and Social Behavior from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a Master of Physical Education degree from Pacific Lutheran University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Vassar College.