WKU News

WKU College of Health and Human Services faculty members Dr. Rachel Tinius, Dr. Maire Blankenship, and Dr. Heather Payne-Emerson are collaborating on a recently funded project through the Kentucky IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (KY INBRE). Beginning in May they will conduct a clinical trial for a mobile app intervention designed to improve lifestyle among pregnant and postpartum women. The mission of the project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the BumptUp® mobile app for helping women to have healthier pregnancies through improved lifestyle. BumptUp® was developed by trained exercise scientists with expertise in maternal health to help pregnant and postpartum women increase physical activity levels. 

Tinius, Blankenship, and Payne-Emerson have support from community members and will collaborate with Graves Gilbert Clinic (Dr. Joseph Gass), and the Medical Center (Kim Dethridge, RN) for recruitment efforts and on-site data collections. Other collaborators include Dr. Nancy Schoenberg (University of Kentucky), Dr. Leigh Lindsey (Women’s Health Specialists), and Bailey Pitts (Medical Center Health).

Dr. Tinius shared, “I am beyond excited to kick off another clinical trial in our community. I am excited to see what impact BumptUp® can have on physical activity and overall health status for pregnant and postpartum women. Dr. Blankenship and I are thrilled to add Dr. Payne-Emerson to our interdisciplinary team of women from the College of Health and Human Services working on this project; her dietary expertise will improve the quality and impact of the work we are doing. I personally feel so fortunate to have amazing colleagues right here in CHHS (Dr. Blankenship and Dr. Payne-Emerson) and the community (Dr. Leigh Lindsey) that allow us to pursue necessary projects and help to fill gaps in care for women in our community. I could not do the work I do without these women. We all bring something unique to the table, and together, we have a synergistic team with such incredible knowledge in all areas of pregnancy and postpartum health.”

Dr. Blankenship also shared, "I am very excited to be working with Dr Tinius, Dr Payne-Emerson, and Dr Lindsey to continue to find ways to improve health outcomes for moms and babies in our community. Good nutrition and exercise habits are key components to health during pregnancy and lifelong. We feel our research will help women in our area identify ways to stay active and healthy during this unique time in their lives."

The KY INBRE is a collaborative network of biomedical researchers in state-supported and independent institutions of higher education within Kentucky and is funded through a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). For more information about KY INBRE click here.

More information about the BumptUp® app can be found here.