Zeller Earns Schmidlapp Scholar Award
CINCINNATI – Meg Zeller, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, has been selected to receive a two-year, $100,000 Schmidlapp Scholar Award from the Fifth Third Bank / Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Women Scholars Program.
Dr. Zeller's research focuses on pediatric obesity. Her current research, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), involves identifying potentially modifiable barriers to healthy weight management for children and adolescents by looking at their psychological adjustment, family environment and peer group environment.
"The support provided by the Schmidlapp Program will allow me to take the next step and conduct a pilot weight loss intervention program based on these findings," says Dr. Zeller.
"For example, we know that successful weight loss requires a reduction in calories and increase in energy expenditure, simply meaning that kids need to eat less and move their bodies more. But getting kids to be successful at this is a much more complex endeavor, as is clear based on the rising rates of overweight and obesity in kids in the past few decades. We need better models of intervention that meet the diverse needs of today's families."
With a $500,000 grant from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee, Cincinnati Children's established the Fifth Third Bank / Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Women Scholars Program in 1997 to enhance the recruitment and retention of female researchers. The program, believed to be the first of its kind in the United States, includes a mentoring program and protected time for research.
The goal of the Schmidlapp Scholar Award is to identify junior female faculty members who show promise and leadership skills, to provide them with financial support and protected time for research, and to help them through the tenure and promotion process. The program targets women a few years into their careers who are judged likely to succeed.
"The number of women in basic science and clinical research drops sharply as they move up the career ladder," says Sandra Degen, PhD, associate chair of academic affairs at Cincinnati Children's. "There are several reasons for this lack of advancement, including society's attitude about women in science, lack of mentoring, and children and family responsibilities. Not only is the pool of candidates small, but the competition among the eight major pediatric centers in the country to attract them is great. An institution that guarantees financial support and limits the pressures of finding external funding is more likely to retain that scientist."
Dr. Zeller joined the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics in the Psychology Division at Cincinnati Children's in 1999. She received her doctoral training at the University of Cincinnati and completed her pre-doctoral internship at Duke University Medical Center and a post-doctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children's. Among her other responsibilities at Cincinnati Children's, she has been the psychologist in the HealthWorks! pediatric weight management program. Dr. Zeller is the mother of three children.
The Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund was created in 1907 by a gift from former Fifth Third president Jacob G. Schmidlapp in memory of his daughter, Charlotte, who died at the age of 19. Mr. Schmidlapp directed that grants be restricted to helping women establish themselves in life. The tradition and history of the fund has been to assist women by helping them gain an education and access to services.
Contact Information
Jim Feuer, 513-636-4656, jim.feuer@cchmc.org
