Sabrina Noel Feldeisen is an Assistant Professor, Director for Community Engagement, Center for Population Health, UMOVE Center Researcher in the Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences, Center for Population Health, UMOVE Departments at UMass Lowell.

Sabrina E. Noel, Ph.D., RD

Associate Professor, Director of the Center for Population Health (CPH), Director of the Health Assessment Laboratory (HAL), Graduate Program Coordinator for the ScD in Public Health

College
Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences
Department
Public Health, Biomedical & Nutritional Sciences, Center for Population Health, Health Assessment Laboratory
Phone
978-934-6459
Office
Riverview Suites 163A and O'Leary Library 540H
Email
Sabrina_Noel@uml.edu
Links

Expertise

Nutritional Epidemiology, Community Assessments, Dietary Assessment, Musculoskeletal Aging, and Health Disparities

Research Interests

Determining the role of dietary quality on development of age-related chronic conditions, such as osteoporosis and cardiometabolic disease in diverse and underrepresented populations; Designing, implementing, and evaluating effective community-based dietary behavior change interventions and ; Understanding social determinants that impact health aging to inform policies and interventions in local area communities.

Education

  • Postdoc, (2011), Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, BMC - Boston, MA
  • Ph D: Doctoral Program in Nutritional Epidemiology, (2009), Tufts University - Boston, MA
  • MS: Health Promotion Sciences, (2004), University of Connecticut - Storrs, CT
  • BS: Coordinated Program in Dietetics, (2002), University of Connecticut - Storrs, CT

Biosketch

Sabrina Noel, Ph.D, R.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences and Associate Director for Community Engagement for the Center for Population Health at UMass Lowell. She also Director of the Health Assessment Laboratory in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences at UMass Lowell. Her research focuses on studying the role of dietary quality on age-related chronic diseases, such as cardiometabolic disease and osteoporosis and on health disparities in diverse and understudied populations. She works with community partners to develop theory-based behavior change interventions for prevention and management of osteoporosis among racial and ethnic minority populations. Lastly, she partners with surrounding communities to understand the multiple factors that influence healthy aging and quality of life to inform local programs, policies, and infrastructure.

Selected Awards and Honors

  • Faculty Honors Award for Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students (2021) – University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Distinguished Service Award (2020) – University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Certified Reframing Aging Facilitator (2020) - Tufts Health Plan Foundation
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Distinguished Service Award (2020) - University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Department of Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences Teaching Excellence Award (2018) - University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Loan Repayment Program Award (2018) - National Institutes of Health

Selected Publications

  • Adherence to Mediterranean, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and Healthy Eating Indices are associated with lower risk of disability among Puerto Rican adults from the longitudinal Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. Flanagan KD, Cornell DJ, Mangano KM, Zhang X, Tucker KL, Noel SE. Am J Clin Nutr. 2024 Aug;120(2):389-397. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.05.030. Epub 2024 Jun 19. PMID: 38906381
  • Genome-wide association study of osteoporosis identifies genetic risk and interactions with Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet and sugar-sweetened beverages in a Hispanic cohort of older adults. Fouhy LE, Lai CQ, Parnell LD, Tucker KL, Ordovás JM, Noel SE. J Bone Miner Res. 2024 Jul 23;39(6):697-706. doi: 10.1093/jbmr/zjae047. PMID: 38484114
  • Association between a Calcium-to-Magnesium Ratio and Osteoporosis among Puerto Rican Adults. Fouhy LE, Mangano KM, Zhang X, Hughes BD, Tucker KL, Noel SE. J Nutr. 2023 Sep;153(9):2642-2650. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.05.009. Epub 2023 May 9. PMID: 37164266 Free PMC article.
  • Red meat consumption, incident CVD and the influence of dietary quality in the Jackson Heart Study. Bigornia SJ, Noel SE, Porter C, Zhang X, Talegawker SA, Carithers T, Correa A, Tucker KL. Public Health Nutr. 2022 Jun 23;26(3):1-10. doi: 10.1017/S1368980022001434. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35733368 Free PMC article.
  • Bioavailability of phosphorus and kidney function in the Jackson Heart Study. Duong CN, Akinlawon OJ, Gung J, Noel SE, Bigornia S, Flanagan K, Pourafshar S, Lin PH, Davenport CA, Pendergast J, Scialla JJ, Tucker KL. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022 Aug 4;116(2):541-550. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqac116. PMID: 35511217 Free PMC article.
  • Metabolite patterns link diet, obesity, and type 2 diabetes in a Hispanic population. Parnell LD, Noel SE, Bhupathiraju SN, Smith CE, Haslam DE, Zhang X, Tucker KL, Ordovas JM, Lai CQ. Metabolomics. 2021 Sep 22;17(10):88. doi: 10.1007/s11306-021-01835-x. PMID: 34553271 Free PMC article.
  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Bone Health and Outcomes in the United States. Noel SE, Santos MP, Wright NC. J Bone Miner Res. 2021 Oct;36(10):1881-1905. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.4417. Epub 2021 Oct 7. PMID: 34338355 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Patterns of change in cardiovascular risk assessments and ankle brachial index among Puerto Rican adults. Noel SE, Cornell DJ, Zhang X, Mirochnick JC, Mattei J, Falcón LM, Tucker KL. PLoS One. 2021 Jan 20;16(1):e0245236. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245236. eCollection 2021. PMID: 33471871 Free PMC article.
  • Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, Mediterranean, and Alternative Healthy Eating indices are associated with bone health among Puerto Rican adults from the Boston Puerto Rican Osteoporosis Study. Noel SE, Mangano KM, Mattei J, Griffith JL, Dawson-Hughes B, Bigornia S, Tucker KL. Am J Clin Nutr. 2020 Jun 1;111(6):1267-1277. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa090. PMID: 32386194 Free PMC article.
  • Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and health behaviors of bone health among Caribbean Hispanic/Latino adults. Noel SE, Arevalo SP, Mena NZ, Mangano K, Velez M, Dawson-Hughes B, Tucker KL. Arch Osteoporos. 2019 Feb 4;14(1):14. doi: 10.1007/s11657-019-0566-5. PMID: 30719597 Free PMC article.
  • Prevalence of Osteoporosis and Low Bone Mass Among Puerto Rican Older Adults. Noel SE, Mangano KM, Griffith JL, Wright NC, Dawson-Hughes B, Tucker KL. J Bone Miner Res. 2018 Mar;33(3):396-403. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.3315. Epub 2017 Dec 7. PMID: 29044768 Free PMC article.
  • Genetic admixture and body composition in Puerto Rican adults from the Boston Puerto Rican Osteoporosis Study. Noel SE, Arevalo S, Smith CE, Lai CQ, Dawson-Hughes B, Ordovas JM, Tucker KL. J Bone Miner Metab. 2017 Jul;35(4):448-455. doi: 10.1007/s00774-016-0775-6. Epub 2016 Sep 14. PMID: 27628044 Free PMC article.
  • The Boston Puerto Rican Health Study, a longitudinal cohort study on health disparities in Puerto Rican adults: challenges and opportunities. Tucker KL, Mattei J, Noel SE, Collado BM, Mendez J, Nelson J, Griffith J, Ordovas JM, Falcon LM. BMC Public Health. 2010 Mar 1;10:107. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-107. PMID: 20193082 Free PMC article.

Selected Presentations

  • Bone Health Disparities among Hispanic/Latino Adults of Caribbean Origin: Is dietary quality an important risk factor for this population - Friedman School of Nutrition Tufts University, 2021
  • Assessing Patient Calcium and Vitamin D Levels and Dietary Intake – National Osteoporosis Foundation, 2021
  • Beyond Calcium and Vitamin D – American Bone Health, 2021
  • Differences in Bone Health Across Populations: A focus on Hispanic/Latino Adults of Caribbean Origin and Dietary Quality- Women’s Health Innovation Forum on Bone Health, 2021
  • Spotlight on Clinical Trial Diversity - Health Equity Summit, Amgen, 2020
  • Gaps in Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs of Osteoporosis among Caribbean Origin Hispanic Adults - Federal Working Group on Bone Disease Meeting, May 2020
  • Influence of aerobic fitness on heart rate recovery among active-duty firefighters - American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, May 2020 - San Francisco, CA
  • Metabolomic Links Between Sweetened Beverage Intake and Obesity - Nutrition 2019 Annual Meeting, June 2019 - Baltimore, MD
  • Musculoskeletal Health Influenced by Diet in Older Adults - Nutrition 2019 Annual Meeting, June 2019 - Baltimore, MD
  • Preliminary Findings of Age-Friendly Lawrence and Current Status of Age-Friendly Lowell - 5th Annual Healthy Aging and Living Well Forum, April 2019 - Lowell, MA
  • Dietary Quality among Cambodian Americans: A Community Engaged Project - Community Engagement and Research Symposium, March 2019 - Worcester, MA
  • Metabolomic signatures of high fruit and vegetable intake and reduced prevalence of osteoporosis: The Boston Puerto Rican Osteoporosis Study - American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting, October 2018 - Montreal, CA
  • Associations of Meat Consumption with Insulin Resistance in African American Adults without Diabetes - Nutrition 2018 Annual Meeting, June 2018 - Boston, MA
  • Dietary Quality Indices are Related to Bone Health among Puerto Rican Adults. - Nutrition 2018 Annual Meeting, June 2018 - Boston, MA

Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

  • Building an Inclusive and Effective Community Health Improvement Plan (2022-2026), Grant- Massachusetts Community Health and Healthy Aging Funds
    Noel, S.E. (Co-Investigator), Miller, E. (Co-Investigator), Toof, R. (Co-Investigator), Velez, M. (Co-Investigator), Giannetti, M. (Co-Investigator)
  • Development and Evaluation of a Culturally Adapted Online Nutrition Education Program Targeting Fish Consumption among Hispanic Adults (2022-2024), Grant – New Hampshire Sea
    Noel, S.E. (Co-Investigator), Bigornia, S.B. (Principal), Hollar, A. (Co-Investigator)
  • Age-Friendly Lowell (2020-2023), Grant- Tufts Health Plan Foundation
    Noel, S.E. (Principal), D’Entremont, K. (Co-Investigator), Toof, R. (Co-Investigator), Devereaux Melillo, K. (Co-Investigator), Hostetler, A. (Co-Investigator), Prendergast, N. (Co-Investigator), Munson, N (Co-Investigator)
  • Bone Microarchitecture, Diabetes and Change in Bone Mineral Density in Puerto Rican Adults (2018-2023), Grant - NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
    Noel, S.E. (Co-Investigator), Tucker, K.L. (Principal), Mangano, K.M. (Co-Investigator)
  • Age-Friendly Lawrence (2018-2021), Grant - Tufts Health Plan Foundation
    Noel, S.E., Velez, M., McMann, H., Melendez, L., Miller, E., Martinez-Dominguez, V.
  • Dietary Quality and Acculturation among 1.5 and 2nd Generation Cambodian Immigrants living in the Greater Lowell Area (2017), Grant -
    Noel, S.E. (Principal), Bigornia, S.J. (Co-Investigator), Ho, I.K (Co-Investigator).
  • Identifying mechanisms underpinning the impact of daily yogurt supplementation on the gut microbiome; inflammation and bone biomarker (2017), Grant - International Osteoporosis Foundation, American Society for Nutrition, Dannone
    Noel, S.E. (Co-Investigator), Mangano, K.M. (Principal), Maldonado-Contreras, A (Co-Investigator).
  • Diet and Health Behavior Change to Improve Bone Health (2015-2020), Grant - NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH- NIAMS
    Noel, S.E. (Principal), Tucker, K.L. (Co-Investigator), Dawson-Hughes, B. (Co-Investigator), Griffith, J. (Co-Investigator), Rosal, M. (Co-Investigator)
  • The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial health and other social factors in a longitudinal cohort of Puerto Rican adults living on the US mainland (2020), Grant -
    Mangano, K.M., Noel, SE, Rajabiun, S., Falcón, L.M., Tucker, K.L.
  • Aging from the inside out (2016), Grant - University of Massachusetts, Lowell Internal Seed Grant
    Noel, S.E. (Co-Principal), Mangano, K. (Principal)